Take a Walk with Me
by LastCetra
Summary: Riku never wanted to go on a journey with her. But maybe a walk was all he needed to help clear his head. To realise, that maybe, it wasn't such a bad idea after all. Riku x Naminé
1. Chapter 1

**Take a Walk with Me**

_**By LastCetra**_

**Chapter 1**

_I was always alone. I was nobody. _

_So, why? Why did he…?_

_How could he change the impossible?_

The soundless footsteps of a woman in white travelled slowly but purposefully through a pearl-white, alabaster hall. A silver haired teenager followed her just as silently. His eyes were clouded by a deep darkness pulling inside him; a darkness he thought he had defeated but realised would never leave. He feared that it would soon tear him apart. The dark devil that had claimed his soul would return, and when that time would come he wondered if he would be strong enough to keep it at bay. He might actually hurt someone he cared about this time.

The woman stopped to look at him, pulling a lock of golden hair behind her ear.

"Are you alright, Riku?" she asked. Her voice was soft, but held a melodious quality. He nodded distractedly, looking around.

"I'm fine," he said in a perfunctory manner. "Where's the end of this place?"

"We're almost there," she replied. "Just down this hall at the end is a door. Then we're out of here for good." Riku didn't answer. He just followed her down the hall. It seemed to take forever to get to the end but in reality it didn't take too long. The young woman's blue eyes brightened as she saw the door.

"This is it!" she chirped, reaching for the handle."

"Naminé," Riku called. She turned, her gaze questioning. He continued. "What's on the other side of that door, really?"

"The exit," she answered, her brow crinkling in confusion. "What else would be there?"

"A trap." He stated it bluntly. She cringed, hurt by his caustic tongue.

"Why would you say such a thing?"

"I don't trust you. You messed with Sora's memories, and you impersonated Kairi to fuel your own agenda for Organisation XIII."

Naminé sighed and nodded. "I know, but I only did it because they-"

"Cut the crap. I don't want to know if it was against your will or not, but you helped them. Take some responsibility for your own actions."

"I'm sorry," she said quietly.

"Don't misunderstand. The reason you're getting this chance is because you saved my life, and Sora obviously trusts you. I'm not interested in being friends. Let's just get to Twilight Town, and get this over with." Naminé's head bowed, and she nodded.

"Okay," she said. "Let's get going then." The door handle turned and opened out to reveal a long road. For the first time Riku realised what kind of journey awaited him. The path was lit by an eerie light, but everything else was blanketed by darkness. There was no view. Riku felt subdued, numbed from the immensity of it all.

Naminé looked at the road as well. It had been weeks, months maybe, since she had seen the outside of that godforsaken castle. There had always been someone watching her, monitoring her whereabouts so she wouldn't escape. Larxene, Marluxia, Axel…

He was the strangest of them all. He didn't have the steely lust for destruction, but neither did he have the drive or determination for it. There was no denying his power though. It was always just masked by how calm and carefree he was, as if nothing would ever ruffle his feathers. They had talked often; about his life, if you could call it a life, his fighting style, and about Roxas. It was always about Roxas. He'd never shut up about him. "Roxas and I did this, Roxas and I did that, Roxas and I went here…" She had always listened, interested in his stories. When Axel would talk about him he would pace a lot, as if talking alone wouldn't be enough. He always had a smile on his face and his green eyes lit up with a sparkle that resembled something of a normal person. There were times during their conversations that Naminé almost felt a kind of warmth radiating off him. Not once had she ever seen Roxas, though she knew he existed within the Organisation. It was strange, but the more she heard of him, the more curious she was to meet him…

"Naminé, let's move." Riku's voice shattered her nostalgic thoughts. She nodded and followed him down the road. They walked in silence. The minutes ticked by, then hours, and still neither one spoke.

"What is this place?" Riku asked eventually. It was so sudden, Naminé thought she was hearing things and almost didn't answer. His expectant face however, told her it wasn't just her imagination.

"It's the road to Twilight Town from Castle Oblivion. It's a few days walk at least. The road is pretty direct though."

"Why do we need to go there? You didn't say."

"That's simple. Sora's asleep there."

Riku stepped in front of her. She stopped, trying not to bump into him.

"What are you trying to pull?" he growled. "Where's Sora? Who was-" Naminé silenced him with a shake of her head.

"That was Sora. I'm not trying to 'pull' anything, as you said. Castle Oblivion is a world made up of people's memories. What you saw were my memories of Sora asleep. We need to go to Twilight Town so we can meet up with him again." Riku looked at her for a minute, as though he were trying to decipher if what she was saying was true or false. He sighed angrily and continued walking. Naminé hesitantly followed.

It seemed endless. The path and scenery stayed the same even hours later; he wondered if he would ever see something different in front of him than the twisting road. Be that as it may, Riku kept his eyes in front, only concentrating on the horizon where the path was obscured by darkness. It was either that or look at Naminé. The two hadn't spoken since their brief exchange of words earlier. He was perfectly happy with that. She was… an annoyance, at best, his potential enemy at worst. The only reason he had stayed with her was the fact that only she could save Sora, and Riku would go through any hardship to help his friend. He didn't think he was being overly cautious. She had done plenty of things to make him mistrust her. It was true she had reasons for her actions, and she didn't seem evil, but neither did Maleficent. He wasn't going to make _that_ mistake again. She was pretty quiet though, what harm would it be to be civil? "Would you like to stop for a rest, Naminé." "Are you okay with this pace, Naminé." "If you want to have something to eat you can." They were all perfect questions to ask without saying "I trust you."

No! That was the first step down a road he would not be able to double back on. He wasn't going to try to be polite, even if it was the way he was brought up to be. But still…

Reluctantly, he looked back. Naminé had fallen far behind, but was still doing her best to keep going, putting one foot in front of the other. He sighed and stopped, waiting for her to catch up. Why hadn't she said something? It took her fifteen minutes to reach him. Naminé noticed his pained look and huffed, turning her head the other way.

"Don't look at me like that," she said, continuing to walk forward.

"Sit down and rest," he deadpanned.

"I'm perfectly fine," she insisted. Riku nudged her shoulder slightly and she toppled onto the ground.

"You can't even stand," he snapped. "If you don't rest you'll just slow me down even more." His voice was horribly cold. Naminé glared at him from her place on the ground, but didn't rise. Instead she turned her back on him. She didn't want him to baby her, think of her as a helpless little girl. She just wanted to get to Twilight Town as soon as possible and get Sora back the to way he was. She had done enough damage already.

Naminé's hands fumbled around in a bag she kept on her shoulder. They soon found a sketchbook and a pencil which she placed on her lap. She opened it and started drawing where they were now; the darkness, the road, and the sole two people on it. She drew herself sitting down, and stopped. Where was Riku standing? What was he doing? Her curiosity was burning, but after the point she had made turning her back on him, she was not going to turn to see where he was and find out. She didn't want him to know she was interested in anything about him, even if it was just a stupid drawing.

She was being proud now, and she knew it. It didn't please her to know she had too much of it for her own good. But she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of him being able to say it. Naminé thought for a moment before putting pencil to paper again. The Riku in her drawing had his back to her; his arms folded and head bowed, enveloped in a rage of swirling thoughts…

"Naminé, put that thing away and get some sleep. We need to be rested for tomorrow." The blonde girl's head snapped up at his interruption. She stared at him for a few seconds and smiled wistfully, as if remembering something. It had been a while since she heard those words.

Riku shifted uncomfortably. She noticed this and gathered herself quickly, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear as a way to hide her embarrassment.

"R-right." The sketchbook was snapped shut.

_**Author's Note:**_

_Hi everyone, I'm back from hibernation! Well, I played and finished KH2 in September when it came out in Europe, and the idea of these two together is something I really like. However I only thought of these two as a pair when I watched "Whisper of the Heart," where the two protagonists who get together are actually Riku and Naminé's voices as well! Small world I guess. shrugs Reviews greatly appreciated, and thanks for reading!_

_LastCetra._


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

They were walking together the next morning in silence, as usual, though Naminé was hardly perturbed by it now. Riku's hostile attitude was upsetting at first, but as the hours had passed, she grew more angry than upset. She had apologised sincerely, and been as polite as she could be. What more could she do? If that was the way he was going to be, she wasn't going to waste her time with him.

Naminé caught Riku throwing a surreptitious glance her way every now and then. By the fourth look askance she was genuinely curious about what he was reluctant to say.

"What is it?" she prodded.

"What? Oh, it's nothing," he lied.

"I don't believe that," she argued.

"Why?"

"You keep looking at me."

"So?"

"You have something to say."

"No I don't."

"Yes you do."

"It's not important."

"I'm making it important."

Riku stopped. So did Naminé. He glared at her. She matched his; staring furiously into his angry blue eyes. If he wanted to be rude and mean and obstinate, she could be just as good at it. Riku was first to break contact, rolling his eyes and walking forward again.

"This is stupid," he declared. "You're being stubborn."

"You didn't answer my question," she insisted, running the few steps to catch up to him. "Why were you looking at me?"

"It's seriously nothing important."

"Riku."

He looked at her. Her voice was firm, unwavering; filled with a resolve he'd only met with one person before. Well, maybe two, but that guy was such a clown. Riku's lips curled into a sneer.

"Hmm," he started. His snide, derisive tone was unmistakable. "Maybe it was how stupidly childish you looked sulking on the floor last night."

Naminé scowled and glared at him as he walked away laughing; he was the obvious victor in this battle. There was a look on his face that knew he'd caught her out as well. He was right, of course. Naminé was speechless. No worthy riposte could snake its way into her mind, much less her mouth.

"That's not funny," she eventually said. The words sounded pathetic, even to her. Riku didn't reply. There was considerable distance made between the two before Naminé realised she wasn't moving.

"Wait!" she called. "I said wait!" Despite her yell, he didn't stop. She ran and caught up with him. She walked alongside him, trying to keep to his pace. It was difficult, and Naminé had to wonder if he was doing it on purpose.

"Fine, I'll drop it," she relented. "But I will find out sooner or later." His pace slowed a little, much to her relief.

"Not unless this mouth can speak by itself," he said.

"It's called sleep-talking," she retorted.

"...shut up."

She did. It was an uncomfortable silence as the two walked on. They both cleared their throats more than once. Riku wished he could have some music in his ears. On the island he always had it. Sora and Kairi often had to bellow to get his attention, and afterwards Kairi would gently admonish him; saying that one day his eardrums would burst. What he'd do to be back there now, instead of here. He hadn't heard Kairi's voice in a long, long time. Well, there was that time in Castle Oblivion, but that wasn't Kairi, that was _her_.

Naminé wondered why Riku was so against her as a person. She knew they hadn't got off to the smoothest of starts, but still he continued to be rude to her, despite her attempts at being friendly. Was he actually that mistrusting? It wasn't _just_ because of what she did, was it? It wasn't like she was proud of it. If it had been her choice...

But she did choose to do it. Even though the Organisation threatened her, it was still up to her in the end, and she did it. She knew what the consequences would be, and she chose to do the wrong thing because she wasn't strong enough. Maybe this was what he meant about taking responsibility. If she was in his position, there was a good chance that she would feel the same. Perhaps Riku had every reason to hate her.

"Naminé?" Riku said pensively. The silence was broken. She was shocked he even spoke.

"Yes?"

"Why do you draw? Is it for a purpose?" His gaze continued to focus straight ahead.

"No..." she hesitantly replied. "Well, yes... I don't know really. I'm not sure." Riku heaved an exasperated sigh at the lack of information he'd just received.

"That leaves me no wiser. Let's see..." He thought for a moment. "Do you draw because you want to, or because you have to?"

"That's a hard one," Naminé mused. She folded her arms in thought while she walked. Riku waited expectantly for an answer. "There are times... when I need to, and for those times I have to draw so I can be sharp and ready for that."

"So you have to," he concluded.

"Not exactly. When I consider some of the times I have needed to draw, some of them I wanted to do it to help someone so..." She laughed. "It's complicated."

Riku scratched the back of his head, slightly bewildered. He looked at her questioningly. "Do you even like it?"

Naminé shrugged. "It's okay, I suppose, though it lost its novelty a long time ago."

"Why?" he pressed. She looked away.

"That's none of your business." Her remark wasn't made angrily. To Riku it sounded like she genuinely didn't want to disclose that piece of information. Nevertheless, it had a definite way of cutting the conversation.

"Oh," was all he could think to say. He didn't think she'd be so touchy about a simple question. In a way, he wanted to keep the conversation going, but he couldn't think of another topic. Fortunately, Naminé could.

"Do you know any spells?"

"No," he admitted. "I was always a bit more brawn than brains. How about you? Do you know any?"

"Basic ones. _Very_ basic. Fire, Thunder, Blizzard, Cure. Not any of the level two or three spells, I never really bothered to train much. I'm not much of a fighter to begin with, and battle doesn't interest me."

"Do you know Aero?" She shook her head.

"Doesn't matter," he continued. "It's helpful you know even that much. You can make a fire, since we've no matches or firewood, and you can cure. That should be enough."

"We're going to run into some heartless on this road, without a doubt," she warned. "We're lucky we've gone this far without seeing one. When Axel brought me to Castle Oblivion, there were so many... but he was the type of guy that just went looking for them. Maybe he cleared the way by fighting them all."

"Axel?"

"One of Organisation XIII's members."

"Right. Don't even try telling me the rest of them, I won't remember anyway."

Naminé raised an eyebrow at him, slightly amused. He looked back at her with a shrug. She shook her head.

"Okay then."

Naminé was right. It was sometime toward the end of that day when a swarm of heartless appeared from the ground.

"Finally!" Riku grinned and charged forward. "And here I was thinking you guys were never going to show!" His Soul Eater appeared almost effortlessly in his hand as he ran. He jumped and swung the blade from below, slicing the first one easily in two, dispatching it immediately. There were about twelve of them, all small fry. It wasn't going to be tough.

"Don't bother using magic, Naminé," he yelled. "I want to take care of them myself!"

Naminé hung back as told, and watched Riku fight. He was remarkably skilled. Well, he was supposed to be the first keyblade master. She wondered if Riku was ever jealous of Sora because he'd taken that honour from him.

Riku spared a glance behind to see how Naminé was faring. She was fine. Why didn't any heartless attempt to attack her? Maybe she was lucky, the next ones might not all go for the biggest threat. Heartless were usually less organised and would steal the easiest heart they could. Were they being controlled by something else? Could it be her?

He spun in a circle, taking out four more Heartless. That left seven.

No, it couldn't be her. That was ridiculous. They had been on the road for almost two days now, and if she had that ability she would have used it now. She would have sent wave after wave after him, sending him towards exhaustion before finishing him off herself.

Then if the heartless were not being controlled by someone else, why was his heart more appealing than Naminé's?

Riku threw the Soul Eater forward and ran after it. The flying blade took out six heartless before he caught it and jabbed it deftly behind him, finishing the last one that dared to attack him from behind.

Naminé looked at him, slightly spellbound by the spectacle she had just witnessed. He managed to defeat six of them by just throwing it. It was obvious to her that Riku loved to fight, but it was slightly more than that. He fought with...a grace, as if it were a dance, and each enemy deserved to die with the respect of being beaten so...beautifully. It was like nothing she had ever seen, but held a magnificence she couldn't describe. It enraptured her.

Realising there was no longer any threat, Riku straightened up and turned to Naminé.

"It's late, let's camp here for the night." He stretched his arms up towards the black sky. She couldn't help but notice the smile that lingered on his face. "That was fun. I'm beat."

Naminé used a fire spell on the middle of the path in front of her. It sprung up instantly and crackled as if it were really burning something. She took out her sketchbook and started to draw scenes from Riku's battle. The thrill he must have felt, every muscle tensed and ready for any onslaught, the triumph of each fatal execution, the skill to move...no, to flow exactly how he wanted to. She realised what it was. When battle arose, Riku became something akin to water. He was allowed to move freely without ties or expectations. He could choose to be gentle or devastating, complicated of simple, anything he wanted to be. There was nothing that couldn't be dealt with; confrontation like this was simple to conclude. When he was finished he could just wash his hands of it. Not like decisions outside battle. They were full of deception, betrayal and hurt. There was the possibility of giving in; that emotionally, he might not be able to overcome the enemies that could not be fought by physical means.

Satisfied that her picture was finished, she closed her sketchbook and looked up. Riku had sat down and had stretched his hands out to the welcoming fire. His eyes were closed, and Naminé could almost see the warmth seeping through his body. Was she reading to much into the actions of his fight? Maybe he just thought of it as a way to burn off excess energy and release a little stress. Admittedly, it was an unorthodox way of doing so but...to each his own, wasn't that what they always said? Right now, as she was looking at him, a contented smile shadowed his features. Maybe he had his issues, but it didn't mean he was plagued by them, had them haunting him every single day. After all, Riku did have an almost unyielding will. He had given himself over to darkness but managed to keep his body, and he had confronted and beaten his inner darkness by choosing to accept it as a part of who he was. Not even Sora understood that to walk in light meant he had to realise the existence of darkness as a counter-balance.

Still, no matter how hard she tried to shake the feeling off it kept coming back to annoy her. There was something more to Riku that intrigued her, but as the status of their 'relationship' was now, she didn't think she'd be finding out about him anytime soon.

Happy that he was warm, Riku lay down with his hands interlaced behind his head. Strands of rebellious silver hair poked into his face. It was getting considerably longer, especially his fringe. Not that he minded; he had always wanted his hair to be a little longer. His parents hated it that way though, so to avoid arguments he kept it at shoulder length, a happy compromise. He stared upwards at the darkness. Was it even day or night? Time was just so meaningless here. He hoped they would get to Twilight Town soon.

"Hey Naminé?" he called, turning his head to the side to look at her. "Sora's...safe, right?" The question caught her by surprise.

"Well, yeah. Why?"

"Will restoring his memories...hurt?"

"No, it's just like going to sleep. When he wakes up, it'll be like he never was in Castle Oblivion."

"So, you-" he started.

"He won't remember me either."

"And the others?"

"Nope. Nothing."

"Won't that be bad?"

"He'll wonder how he got so tall, but as for wondering where all the time went, he'll just think it was in that pod sleeping."

"And is there any chance that he'll remember something?"

"No. That chain of his memories won't be linked, so he'll be fine. No psychological damage or anything."

Riku scoffed. "He's psychologically damaged as it is."

Naminé hid a smile. "I don't think-"

"But, psychologically damaged or not, he's still my friend." He looked up at the sky, if you could call it a sky. "If anything happens to him Naminé..."

He didn't finish, but Naminé understood all too clearly what he meant. "I know."

"Haven't seen him in a while," he murmured to himself. "I'll be wanting a fight." Riku closed his eyes. Naminé lay down and did the same, though it took her considerably longer to drift into slumber.

* * *

_**Author's Note.**_

_**Thank you everyone for your reviews, watches, and favourites! I'm really REALLY grateful!! I hope you all got your replies, but still, hugs to you all! I suppose I should say this now. I'm not a fast updater. But I'm going to try and update every three weeks. Again, the key word in that sentence was try. I'll do my best! Thanks for reading, reviews appreciated!**_

_**LastCetra.**_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

That night was full of nightmares. Riku couldn't remember much of the details of any one in particular, but when he woke up, sick with fear, he could vividly remember the despair he felt, and the helplessness. Sighing, he put his head in his gloved hands, finding little comfort in the rough texture of the material. The possibility of going back to sleep was now a million miles away. What had he dreamt of to make him feel the way he did now? It had been a long time since one that bad had come along. When he had been trapped in darkness after Ansem had taken over his body, his sleep was plagued by nightmares similar to the one he had just experienced. Maybe it was Ansem's way of reminding him that he was never going to leave. His presence was always there, even when he was most happy. Riku knew that his enemy was going to be a part of him for the rest of his life, and he could accept that. But it didn't mean he had to like it. Darkness, in the end, was still a harder burden to bear than light.

His mind wandered, and he wondered about what would have happened if he had allowed Naminé to seal his darkness away. What kind of person would he have become? Would he have remembered anything of his journey over the last year? He shuddered at the thought of losing those memories. Though some of them were painful at best, he didn't think he could have just chosen to forget about them. They were him; they made him who he was and he had developed as a person because they were carried on his conscience. Riku knew that if he had forgotten them he would probably still be the little boy that wanted desperately to sail away from home. It was ironic that now all he wanted to see was that secret island where they all once played together. But he didn't want to see it alone. It would be far worse if he saw the place without his friend by his side. And Kairi... he missed her like crazy but he knew she was safe. He didn't have to worry about her. As long as she didn't come to harm he could bear her absence. He would never wish his fate on her.

Riku's head rose from his hands to survey his surroundings. The fire had long been extinguished. No trace of its former existence was left, not even ashes. Of course, if it burnt nothing then it was obvious it wouldn't leave any.

Naminé was still asleep. She looked so...young, like that; like a child that does not yet fully comprehend the dangers the world has to offer. What did she dream of? Was her sleep ever as troubled as his own?

Riku shook his head furiously. They were not, nor were they ever going to be friends. The things she'd done, the mess she'd made...

She wasn't the only one who'd ever made a mess of things. He was the best example of that, and he'd gotten a second chance. Something deep inside him was insisting that she deserved one, that she was essentially a good person. And yet...Riku could feel a reluctance to accept that. Call it a first impression, a doubt, mistrust, anything. He wasn't going to shake it off just yet. It had, after all, been only two days. Trust wasn't gained in that short space of time.

"Your guard is down," Naminé said bluntly, tearing him back from his inner conflict. He spun around to look at her. She was still lying on the ground, but her head was propped up by her hand. She looked at him lazily. "If I was the enemy, you'd be dead. You shouldn't space out like that."

Riku's mouth flapped open and closed uselessly. It was good to see him uncomfortable for once.

"That was such a clichéd line," he managed eventually. "And I wasn't spacing out." Naminé yawned and turned on her side.

"Whatever. I know what I saw."

"I wasn't spacing out," he insisted.

"Yeah, yeah."

"I wasn't-"

"Spacing out," she finished. "Heard you the first time, Riku."

"But-"

"Go back to sleep or something."

"But I w-"

"Or shut up, either option is perfectly fine. Just stop bothering me." Naminé rummaged in her bag and threw him a packet of instant noodles, along with a bottle of water. They had raided Castle Oblivion for supplies before they left. The Organisation could prove useful sometimes when it came to food. Axel liked "instant" everything. She concentrated and got the fire going again, burning low, before resuming her original position on her side in an attempt to get a little more sleep.

"Have those," she told him. "You should have the pan in your own bag. Boil the water, tip them in, leave for five minutes, stir occasionally and voila! Food." Riku gave her an exasperated look, though afterwards he wondered why he did. She _was_ turned away from him after all.

"These are easy to make. What do you take me for, a brain-dead idiot with hopeless culinary skills?"

"Hey, you were the one who said you were more brawn than brains."

There was a few seconds of precious silence before Naminé felt the thump of an empty plastic bottle connect with her head. She shot upright and glared at Riku. It had surprised her more than it hurt her, but she wasn't going to let him know that.

"Ow!" she complained. "What was that for!?"

"Hey, you were the one who said I was more brawn than brains," he repeated innocently. The noodles were tipped into the boiling water and stirred. He was surprised at how fast it boiled. Maybe it was because it was a fire borne of magic.

"But you didn't have to hit me!"

"Well, that _is_ the only thing a person of my intellect can think of as a retort." His voice was laced with satire. She glared at him.

"I didn't mean it like that," she said.

Riku looked down. "I know." He stirred quietly while Naminé got herself up and ready. There was nothing to be said. Both were content enough, surprisingly, with the silence between them. Riku took the noodles off the fire when they were ready and put them into two bowls. He held one out to Naminé, who looked at him in genuine surprise.

"What?" he said. "They're your noodles."

"Th-thanks," she replied, taking the bowl gratefully. Riku nodded and sat down opposite her.

"I-" Naminé started, finding sudden interest in her bowl of food. "I know this is a weird question, but what do you want to be when you're older? I mean, this isn't what you're going to be doing for the rest of your life, is it? You have to have something else in mind, you know?"

"Jeez, haven't been asked that question in a while." He paused, hesitant to answer. He didn't know if he should tell her or not. There was no way she could use it against him, was there? His mind couldn't think of an occasion where it could be so he decided to indulge her this once.

"When I'm older, I'd... like to be an athlete," he said quietly. "At home, my world has many islands, but five main ones. Once every four years all the islands gather together to host a huge contest. It's like the one in Olympus Coliseum, only with sports like sprinting, volleyball, basketball, martial arts and javelin."

"Wow," Naminé said. "I'd love to see that. Which one would you do? The martial arts?"

"No," he replied, shaking his head with a slight smile. "Everyone guesses that, but my fighting style has no discipline. I wouldn't be very good at it." His food forgotten, he brought his knees to his chest and embraced them. His sea-blue eyes had a shine to them that made his face look a whole lot brighter. To Naminé, it looked like he was back at home.

"My speciality would be sprints. I always liked running, I'd do it every day. When it came to the school sports days, I'd leave everyone for dead, even Sora. It's my dream to run the one hundred and four hundred metre sprint in those games. Competition is tough. Even if I qualified to just run in the final, that would be good enough for me. I wouldn't have to win to be satisfied."

"What age do you have to be to enter?"

"Sixteen."

"So you could enter now, couldn't you?"

"Well, the next one is still two years away. I don't know if I should train now or finish school first." He laughed, though it was obvious to Naminé that it was fake.

"Better get home before I decide anything though." He picked up his bowl and ate quickly. Naminé had long finished.

"You'll get home," she assured.

"What about you?" he asked, his mouth full of noodles. He had blatantly ignored what she had said.

"Me?" She felt the slightest twinge of discomfort. "I don't know..."

"Come on," Riku scorned. "I know you're just saying that out of modesty. Anything. Anything at all."

"Um..." Naminé had honestly no idea. People like her weren't supposed to exist, a future seemed unthinkable. It was the first time she'd ever been asked this question, and it had really surprised her, even though she was the one that had brought it up.

"Well, it's not an artist anyway," he offered. "Leave that as a hobby of sorts."

"A hobby," she echoed. "I guess you could call it that..." She paused to think. If she could spend the rest of her life doing anything, anything she wanted...

"I," she said slowly, trying to place her words just right. "I suppose I always liked helping people if they had problems or were in trouble. Can you put a career to that?"

"Oh, you mean a councillor. They talk to people who have problems and guide them into making practical solutions."

"Sounds like you've said that before," she noted. He shrugged.

"Our guidance councillor at school always said it. After a while it just seems to stick." He straightened his back and cleared his throat. "'I'm not here to dictate, but to facilitate.'"

"I can imagine that guy in a tweed jacket and all," she said with a chuckle.

"Got it in one," he replied. Riku didn't notice the smile that crept across his face.

"Yeah, I wouldn't mind doing something like that." Her voice turned more serious. "It sounds like it could be fun."

"Hmm, something like that suits you down to a-" Riku stopped mid-sentence. He realised he was having a pleasant conversation with her. What the hell was he doing? He wasn't supposed to be talking to her like this. He wasn't her, her _friend_. Why would he-

His thoughts were interrupted as he got his comeuppance. It was in the shape of a bottle, and it hit him in the middle of his forehead with force, sending him reeling backwards.

"Your guard is down," Naminé repeated with a laugh. She made no attempt to hide her glee in getting him back. "And by the way, you can keep the bottle." Riku jumped up and mumbled something explicit, crushing the bottle in his right hand as she walked away. After a few minutes she turned back to face him.

"Well, what are you waiting for! Hurry up!"

Riku did the only thing he could do. He followed.

* * *

_**Authors' Note:**_

_**So there you have it, another chapter up! When you think about it, even after all that's happened, Riku is still a kid. And kids are worried about their future. It's a general ice-breaker topic amongst people his age, and that's why I put this there. I edited this about six times, no joke. It wasn't that I couldn't think of what to write, I had to add things, then take them away and I just wasn't happy with it. I think it's okay now though. Thanks to everyone for their reviews, alerts and favourites! If anyone ever has a question don't hesitate to send me an email either! Thanks for reading, reviews as always, are appreciated.**_

**_LastCetra._**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

It was sometime in the afternoon when a white monster appeared in front of the duo. Riku drew his Soul Eater and grinned.

"Riku be careful!" Naminé warned. "This isn't a heartless. It's a Dragoon, a type of nobody!"

The teen faltered. His blade dipped slightly.

"No...body?"

"They're like heatless, but only appear when a strong person loses their heart. They're far more powerful than heartless." Riku looked back at her, his eyes questioning and curious.

"But how do you know about-"

His questioning had to be saved for another time as he saw a spear flying towards his head from the corner of his eye. He ducked and sprang from a crouching position at the Dragoon. His sword drove into the body. It let out a distorted, mangled yell. Riku jumped back, confused.

"Naminé," he inquired. "Is this thing even human?"

There was a long silence. He started to wonder had she even heard him. He opened his mouth again to ask when she answered.

"No. I, I guess not." There was something in her voice that made Riku regret his question, but he hadn't the time to worry about it. The spear had re-appeared in the monster's hand and was advancing on the teen. Riku raised his blade, matching each blow masterfully, searching for a weakness, a pattern, a flaw; anything that would turn the tide of the battle. None came.

The monster brought his spear down in a crushing blow. Riku sidestepped quickly and pulled his blade up in a high arc. It was blocked easily and he was hurled into the air like he was made of paper. He fell hard on the ground, winded.

Riku's skin tingled as a bell rang above him. All bruises instantly vanished. He looked up into Naminé's eyes, filled with concern.

"You alright?" she asked.

"I'm fine," he answered.

"That's good."

"Thanks," he added reluctantly.

"No problem. Do you need any help?"

"When I tell you to, hit him with thunder, okay?" She nodded.

Riku leapt into the air, attacked him twice and repeated. He did the action several times. The monster, adapting to this new pattern, advanced on his fourth turn as Riku jumped away.

"Now!" he yelled. Naminé let the spell loose. Thunder rolled, and lightning shot down from the temporary squall, damaging the Dragoon considerably. It roared; any attack it was thinking to make was forgotten. Riku took advantage of its stunned state and plunged his sword deep into its chest, breaking through the monster's glass-like shell. Knowing it was defeated, he swung the Soul Eater back out. The glass splintered, and a multitude of shards shot outwards like deadly daggers. There was so many of them there was every chance that at least one of them would hit either Riku or Naminé. It so happened that three pierced Riku's flesh.

He was far beyond being able to scream. His lips parted slightly, expressing soundless cries of anguish. It was the only thing his body was capable of doing. The Soul Eater fell from his nerveless fingers as he too landed on the ground. To him, it felt like it had taken him an eternity to fall; as if everything had slowed down so he could take it all in. His mind was blank, he could feel the numbness starting to crawl through his body. Was this even happening? No, the pain was real enough for him to know it wasn't an illusion, or a dream. He was dying. He stared up at the abyss of darkness above him. How fitting, no, how ironic it was that he was going to die in this place. A place of darkness.

Naminé's panicked face appeared above him

"Riku!" she exclaimed. "Riku, stay awake, okay? I'm going to pull these daggers out."

"Naminé," he choked. His voice was lower than he thought, and it hurt to say even that much. He had to though. "Will you...tell Sora?"

"You can tell him yourself," she replied firmly. Her eyes were fixed on the three wounds he had; one in his stomach, another in his shoulder and the last one was embedded in his chest. She prayed it hadn't hit his heart. Gingerly, she put one hand flat on his chest and grabbed the white splinter with the other. Naminé counted to three, took a deep breath and pulled it straight out. Riku's body arched and he let out an involuntary scream. The sound ripped through her ears. She knew it must be painful, but if she didn't do this he was going to die.

"Just two more," she assured. "You're doing great, Riku, just hold on and try to keep still for me please." Riku blinked. He couldn't nod his head or answer. Everything was so surreal. All the strength he had had before seemed to be slipping away. He tried to fight it from happening, but how could he fight something he couldn't control?

Naminé repeated the process for the last two. The second dagger managed to create a similar reaction to the first but extracting the last from his chest only heralded a faint whimper. By now, blood was spattered all over her clothing. She didn't stop to thing about it. Now that his wounds had nothing to block the blood flow it was being lost at a more alarming rate, and she had less time than ever. Her hands fumbled around her rucksack and she took out her notebook and pen. She opened it and started to draw.

The picture she drew was of him lying exactly where he was now, only that all his wounds had healed, and he was asleep. She had to be exact; it wouldn't work if she didn't notice something and missed drawing it. She needed everything; every zip, buckle and button, every bloodstain, even his sword beside him. She was finished in less than three minutes, but she feared that even that was a bit too late. She placed her hand on the picture and closed her eyes.

Light lit up the sketchbook. The picture disappeared off the page and reappeared in front of Riku's body. There was a flash as if someone had taken a picture. Then it just seemed as if the pictures swapped. Naminé smiled.

"Thank goodness," she breathed, relieved. Her body was completely enervated; all her energy was needed for it to succeed. It was okay though. She had done it. She hadn't been too late. Her head swam in dizziness and she collapsed on the ground.

Riku's eyes fluttered open. His head was throbbing and his vision was slightly blurry from sleep, but otherwise he felt fine.

_Fine..._ The image sparked in his mind's eye. The explosion, the daggers, the pain...

Riku bolted upright and patted his body all over. It was alright. He was fine, his wounds were gone.

Why was he alive? Those daggers should have killed him. How? Why? His head turned to Naminé lying beside him. She was asleep, with her hand on her sketchbook. There was dried blood all over her; smeared on her face, her hair, and spattered all over her white dress. Looking at himself once again he realised that he too was covered in his own blood.

Being careful not to wake her, Riku gently took the sketchbook out of her hand. It was already opened to a picture of him. Well, it was hardly a picture, it looked more like a photograph. He stared at it in horror, completely taken aback by his mutilated condition. His face was screwed up in agony, and there was blood everywhere. That was how he thought he should look now.

Riku's gaze fell on Naminé once more. Was this her power? Slowly, he turned the pages of the sketchbook. The last few were pictures of them walking along the road, and one with him fighting heartless the day before, but the more he travelled back, the more varied the pictures became. There was a picture of her giving a charm to Sora, pictures of Sora asleep, forgotten abilities...these were all things that had affected his friend. Blocking the worrying thoughts of his companion's safety from his mind he passed through them quickly. Other pictures appeared of different things; two men, one blonde, one red-haired, both dressed in black cloaks walking together, a village, smiling people, children playing in a garden. This world was tranquil, unaffected by the darkness that had encompassed his own world, his home.

Memories of peaceful days flooded back to him. He wondered if Kairi got back safely, or was she wandering around like he was. No, Sora would have made sure she was okay. It was strange, but Naminé reminded him of Kairi a lot. The day before, when she threw the bottle at him, Kairi would have been the only one brave enough to try something like that and know she'd get away with it. Or, when they argued, she had the exact same 'stubborn as a mule' attitude. Maybe the reason he was letting his guard down so much was that they were so alike. He couldn't do that anymore, not until he was sure she was on his side.

But she had just saved his life. How much more proof did he need? How would she be able to show it? And even if she did, would he actually be able to trust her then?

Shaking those thoughts off for another day, he made to turn to the next drawing when a hand closed the sketchbook shut.

"Please don't touch that," Naminé told him. One hand was clutching her head, the other took the book away. Her voice wasn't mad, just tired. Riku didn't protest.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"I'm fine. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," she said dismissively. She looked at the state of her clothes and sighed. "I'll never be able to get this out. You might as well throw yours out too, Riku, once we get to Twilight Town."

"Yeah. I've nothing to change into now, so I'm going to have to deal with it till then."

"Me too. Is my face dirty?"

He hesitated for a few moments. She gave him a crooked smile.

"Don't worry, I'm not _that_ vain."

"Yeah, it is." he admitted. He took some water out of his bag and handed it to her. She nodded in thanks and started wiping her face. When she finished she looked at him.

"Is it all gone?"

"Yeah, you got it all."

"You might want to clean your own," she advised.

"That bad?" he asked.

"That bad."

Riku took off his gloves and Naminé poured some of the water into his cupped hands, which he splashed on his face. Afterwards he returned the bottle to his bag. They only had two left after that one. Somehow he didn't expect there to be a well or a stream on this road.

"I can't wait to have a shower," he muttered.

"Well, the sooner we get up and go, the sooner that dream will be realised." She stood shakily to her feet, took a few steps forward and wobbled dangerously. Riku caught her before she fell.

"Hey, you sure you're okay? Maybe you need-"

"Don't worry. I'm just a little tired, but I'm fine, really."

"Naminé." Riku looked at her intently, advising her to sit down.

"Please," she pleaded. "Let's get going."

It wasn't right, she had virtually no strength left and she wanted to keep moving. For her own health he was reluctant to let her go but he knew she'd only nag at him otherwise. Why was she being so stupid?

That was easy. Maybe she didn't want to make a big deal out of whatever she just did. Maybe she just wanted to forget about it, and the easiest way to do that was to keep going forward. He sighed. Well, if that was what she wanted to do, perhaps he could deal with that.

Naminé watched as Riku eventually stood up and extended his hand to her. The slightest red tinge came to his cheeks. She smiled, took his hand gratefully and pulled herself up. Riku held onto it as they started walking down the path. Her steps were slow but he didn't mind; he was tired as well. If they could both just make their way down the road they'd be alright.

"Hey Naminé," he asked.

"Yes?"

"I'm supposed to be dead, aren't I?"

The question caught her by surprise. She stumbled, and fell against Riku. He caught her arms and held her close to him so she wouldn't fall. Naminé sank into him, grateful for the support.

"You're not dead," her muffled voice sounded.

"But I should be."

"No-"

"You don't have to lie, I'm glad to be alive. It's just...I know the wounds I got. No one should have survived that. I only exist because you reversed the laws of nature." He looked unseeing into the distance.

"I'm..." He shook his head, searching for the right words. "I'm an accident now, aren't I? I shouldn't exist."

"Don't ever say that!" she exclaimed.

"But it's true, isn't it?" he said softly.

She looked up at him, her blue eyes remarkably angry. Riku thought he saw a flicker of sadness cross them before her eyelids shut delicately, preventing any further examination from him. She lay her ear against his chest.

"Wh-what are you doing?" he asked. He felt very uncomfortable all of a sudden.

"I can hear you heart," she replied. "It goes, 'ba-dum.'"

Riku laughed a little at her great use of vocabulary.

"As long as you have a beating heart it's not true," she told him. Her voice was barely above a murmer. "You exist, okay? You were meant to be in this world."

Riku breathed in, and out. They stayed there for a long time like that, Riku trying to come to terms with still being alive. It was so strange, he thought if his life had been just saved he would be...happier, than he was now. He had been so sure he was going to die, so sure. Now that he wasn't... It wasn't an anticlimax, but something was different. He felt out of place. Like this wasn't where he was supposed to be.

He guessed that was a pretty good assumption.

Although, the woman had a point. He worked, everything was healed. In a way, it was no different than being sewn up or cured by a spell. But something felt wrong, it wasn't just a normal cure spell. This was much, much bigger than that.

"What did you do?" he asked. "How-" The words wouldn't come.

"How are you alive," she finished for him. He nodded.

"Life has many worlds, Riku. There are also parallel worlds. When I drew you healed, I just swapped one outcome from another parallel world with this one. That's my power."

"Isn't that dangerous?" he questioned.

"What do you mean?" she retorted, somewhat over-defensively.

"Well, you're playing with fate, aren't you? You're challenging the world's order."

"The worlds will be fine," she stated. "The notebook can just never be destroyed, or all the situations will be reversed."

Riku swallowed. "Reversed?"

"Yeah. For example, if your picture was to be destroyed, your wounds would be re-opened and you would die."

"Oh," was all he could say. He was unnerved by that, knowing that his life was hanging by such a thin thread.

"You can't bring someone back to life or kill someone though. And if someone died in an accident you drew, their lives cannot be restored. If you ripped the picture up, only the accident would be reversed, and the person would have just died another way. It's complicated, but that should be it."

"Wait a minute," he said. "If we just ripped up Sora's picture, his memories would come back, right?"

"It's not that simple. When Sora lost his heart, a nobody was created."

"What has that got to do with his memories?"

"You see, Sora and his nobody are the same. By right, if Sora is still alive, his nobody should be a part of him. Sora won't regain his memories until his nobody becomes one with him again."

"Is it because his nobody retains some of his memories?"

"Subconsciously, yes. Not all nobodies are like the one you fought. Some don't even know what they actually are."

"So we're going to have to find Sora's nobody, who might not actually know what the hell he is?"

"Yup."

"Great."

"It'll be a bit troublesome I suppose, but Roxas is a member of Organisation XIII."

"Roxas?"

"Sora's nobody."

"Hold on a second, we were in Castle Oblivion all that time and we never stayed to find him? What the _hell_ were you thinking!?"

"His friend...Axel, he talked to me about him all the time when I was being held there. I would have known if he'd have come."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Trust me, Riku."

His face darkened at her request.

"Don't ask me that," he said, pulling her away from his chest. "Don't ever ask me that."

Naminé bowed her head and nodded.

"I'm sorry," she replied quietly. Riku turned his back on her. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

"No-" he started. "That's not what-" He paused, then sighed again.

"Forget it. Can you walk?"

"...yeah."

They set off once more.

**Author's Note:**

**Hi everyone. And so chapter four is up! I just wanna say thanks to everyone who reviewed, and electronic cookies and milk to the people who are sticking with this fanfic and reviewing every chapter! You guys rawk!!! Hope you got your replies!**

**As for the Dragoon, I don't think he has a glass chest in the game. But I do defend my case by saying that Sora never plunged his keyblade into it to find out either, lol.**

**There you have it. The next two months are going to be crazy busy for me, so an update might be slow coming. That and the fact that I wrote the start of the next chapter about six times, and I'm not happy with any one of them. I apologise in advance. Thanks for reading, reviews appreciated!**

**LastCetra.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

The next day was uneventful. Riku was anxious to keep moving to make up for the time they'd lost, so rests were brief. Naminé had a hard time keeping up with his pace, but somehow managed. Heartless appeared on the road every so often, and were dispatched without a second thought.

The past two days had been difficult since Riku's outburst. There had been an awkward silence immediately afterwards, neither knowing what to say or how to act. Naminé had started speaking to him by the end of the day, but the tension that hung in the air was almost tangible. She was obviously hurt by what he had said. What could he do? He couldn't help it. It was how he felt.

Was it? Sure, maybe he had been hostile towards her at first but she had done nothing to make him mistrust her. She had saved his life, and it had used all her energy. She could barely walk the day before. Wasn't that worthy of his trust?

In that case, why didn't the heartless attack her? Why did it seem like she repelled them? In each fight not one Heartless even looked her way. There was still something she wasn't telling him, and if he were to ever trust her he'd have to know what that was. Maybe she could understand that. He hoped she would.

They turned a corner on the road to see a light twinkling in the distance. It was a welcome beacon after living the past few days in darkness.

"That's Twilight Town!!" Naminé exclaimed, her whole body perking up at the sight of the end of their arduous journey. She willed her tired feet forward. "Come on, Riku, we're almost there!"

The silver-haired teen caught her wrist. She started at the sudden contact, wondering what was wrong.

"From that distance, it's still going to take us most of the day to get there. We should rest."

She hesitated, then nodded. They sat. Naminé realised how tired she was as she performed the simple action. Her strength seemed to seep downwards into the glowing ground and she slumped forwards. Riku's face appeared next to her.

"Hey, you alright?"

"Mmm," she said. "Just tired. I'll sleep once we get to Twilight Town."

Riku wondered what she thought of him. Was she actually offended by what he had said, or did she even care? He wouldn't have blamed her if she hated him. Part of him wished it. Why did he have to go so insane over it? He could have been nice, avoided the question like other normal people but no. He _had_ to be different. He had to do everything the hard way, all the damn time. Why couldn't he have been nice? Even once. Why was it something he refused to do?

By now, their "relationship" had resumed to something that resembled what they had reached before, but Riku couldn't help but think they had to start from the beginning. There was something missing that they used to have, something he couldn't quite yet put into words. It didn't diminish how important it was though. Because this element was missing, there was an emptiness that enveloped them both.

Riku shook his head angrily. What was the point in this at all? He had said from the very beginning that he didn't want to get to know her. That he wasn't interested in being friends. He looked at her tired face for a moment, and looked away.

There was a part of him that was begging him to think beyond reason. That if he cut his ties with this woman, he would regret that decision.

"Why don't you sleep now?" he asked. Naminé smiled wearily back at him.

"Because I don't want to."

"Why?"

"With Twilight Town so close? No way. I just wish this road would have a rock or something I could lean against."

Riku sat down and crossed his legs, his back facing hers.

"Lean back," he said. Naminé saw what he was trying to do, and looked up in surprise.

"You sure?" she asked.

"Jeez, woman, it's not like I'm asking you to bear my child or something."

Naminé blushed furiously. She looked down, hiding her face with a curtain of hair. He was right, why was she so embarrassed about it? She let herself fall and rested he back on his. The more time she took the worse it would look.

It was quiet for some time. Riku's mind was strangely blank; a rare occasion that was always welcomed. Naminé thought of many things. She brought her left knee up slightly and laced her fingers around it. Not having to look at Riku anymore, her face tilted up to stare at the black sky.

"Hey," she said quietly.

"Yeah?" he asked, interested. Her voice had sounded soft, serious.

"Did you ever have an imaginary friend?"

Riku burst out laughing. "What?"

"Come on, have you never even thought about it?" she questioned, her tone indignant.

"No, no, it's not that," he replied. "I just didn't expect you to come out with something, something so..." he trailed off, trying for the first time to be careful of his words. Naminé frowned at him.

"Just say it," she deadpanned.

"Utterly stupid," he laughed. "You sounded so serious until then."

"What, did you expect me to ask you the meaning of life or something?"

"No," he started. "I.."

"While we're on that topic actually, what do you think is the meaning of life?"

"Sorry for the inconvenience," he said automatically.

"I bet you read that in a book somewhere."

"Maybe I did."

They laughed, but to both it seemed to ring hollow in their ears. It fizzled quickly into a collective sigh, and silence reigned once more. It was not easy to forget that they had had a fight only two days before, and sitting like this together was probably one of the most difficult things either of them had done. Not difficult in the sense that it was hard, but difficult in the way that they were so uneasy around each other, and that they _had_ to be around each other. It was strange; usually after a fight people could part ways, take some time to cool down. They didn't have that. For better or for worse, they were stuck together until the time they could be among the twinkling lights in the distance.

"So, Riku," Naminé said, wanting to shatter the discomforting quiet. "Have you ever had an imaginary friend?"

She heard a low thud as the teen's head impacted with his hands.

"Ugh, not this again," he complained. "No, Naminé, I never had an imaginary friend."

"I did," she laughed. "His name was Fred."

"Fred?" he repeated. "For an imaginary friend, he certainly sounds boring."

"He was cool!" she exclaimed. "He was a part-time chef, and at the weekends he did rally driving."

"You're not serious," he said incredulously. "That's just too weird. What did he cook? Where did he get the car to drive? And who in the world could he drive against??"

"Well," she replied pensively. "He cooked for very important people, and he wouldn't tell me the recipes in case I told someone, so I never knew what he cooked, or what ingredients he used. His car was a red shiny one; I probably made that up too. As for who he drove against, I can't tell you. I always gave out to him for driving dangerously and wouldn't go to his races."

"What did your parents say about all this?" he asked with a smile.

"I, uh... never knew my parents," she said quietly. She didn't have to see Riku's face to know he was embarrassed. "I don't know if they're alive or dead, or even what they look like." She paused, wondering if she should keep going. It wasn't anything that could affect him adversely, so it wasn't too important, even if it was unnecessary information.

"I did have two guardians though, but they...died, not too long ago."

"Oh. I-"

"It's okay," she said, giving her head a shake. Her neck craned higher upwards, trying to prevent the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes.

"If I may ask, how did they...?"

"An accident. But I'd rather not talk about it." Her voice had a quaver in it that Riku couldn't put his finger on.

"Okay, no pressure."

"I'm sorry," she replied.

"Really, don't apologise." He vacillated for a moment, wondering how far he would be able to push the topic. "Are they the ones you drew in that picture?"

"Which one?"

Riku twisted slightly to be able to sit next to Naminé without her having to get up. The blonde girl opened the sketchbook and started to flick through the pictures. Riku grabbed it from her and turned the pages himself.

"Hey-" she protested, but he had already given it back to her, open on the picture she was talking about.

"See? This one," he said, pointing at it.

Naminé was accompanied by a man and a woman. The man had short brown hair with a fringe that fell just above his left eye. His eyes were brown and warm; he had a very carefree attitude about him. Though well built, it was obvious from the picture that he loved his family. One hand was planted on Naminé's shoulder, while the other was giving a thumbs up. The woman was a bit shorter, with green eyes and long blonde hair that was swept into a side ponytail. Her head was leaning on Naminé's other shoulder and her thin, delicate hands were slipped around her waist from behind that pulled Naminé into a hug. Naminé's right hand was held up in a shy type of greeting, and her left hand carried a basket of flowers. A big grin only enhanced her beauty, as if her whole face was smiling.

"Yeah," she said, tracing the outlines of the figures with the tip of her index finger. Her voice was barely above a whisper. "That's them alright."

"What were they like?"

"He was Noel," she explained, pointing to the man. "He was very big and dramatic, always waving his hands around the place, and he had this really deep laugh. It was like one of those cheesy evil villain ones, but it always had me in stitches."

Naminé pointed to the woman.

"That was Lillian. Compared to Noel, she would hardly speak. I guess he spoke enough for the both of them anyway. She had been brought up to be very refined as a kid, always polite and behaved well. She never moved or walked like a normal person, more like _glided_." Naminé laughed. "Noel always mocked her for that. When she got angry though, she could be so scary! Noel and I would hide in the shed in our back garden. It had a darts board and we'd play for hours. Lillian could never hold a grudge for long, and whenever she was grumpy she'd fell guilty about it and cook us the nicest food afterwards."

"Your family sounds just as normal as mine," Riku remarked.

"Yeah, they were really nice people." Naminé lingered on the picture for a few more seconds before flicking to a blank page.

"It wouldn't be me if I didn't draw, right?" Her voice was overly cheerful, but Riku knew too well what it was like to keep emotions in check. He decided to drop the subject.

"Guess it wouldn't. Do those pages even run out?"

"Nope." She shrugged and continued. "Never had to buy one yet anyway."

Their conversation stalled. Riku stood up, making sure he gave her enough warning to sit up by herself. He stretched, and turned to look at her. She was drawing the scene again. It was the first one that looked any different because of the distant lights.

"Ready to go?" he asked.

"Almost," she replied, sweeping the pencil across the page to finish the outline. "Okay, done."

"Come on."

"Noooo," she whined jokingly. "I don't wanna..."

"You're slowing us up!" he exclaimed.

Her face fell. Riku slapped his hand to his forehead.

"No, no, that's not what I meant," he said, correcting himself. Naminé looked away for a moment, then looked back, her face smiling again.

"That's okay," she said. "Now, pull me up." Riku took her hand and yanked her upwards. Naminé plunged forward a few steps before righting herself. She glared at her companion, who returned it with a sweet smile. She huffed and walked on. Riku hung back hesitantly.

"Why?" he blurted out suddenly. Naminé's eyes widened slightly in a questioning manner.

"What do you mean?"

He sighed. "Why are you-? Why do you act like that?"

"Like what?"

"As if nothing's wrong between us."

Naminé turned her back on him and continued down the road.

"It's not like your words didn't hurt, Riku," she said. "But...I'm okay. I guess, that's just the way you are. It doesn't bother me all that much when I think about it like that."

Riku didn't know what to say. He caught up with her and they walked together.

"Is that why you were able to draw me so perfectly the other day, when you had your back turned? Because you know my character so well?"

"Is that when you kept looking at me and you wouldn't tell me why?"

"Yes, I could be talking about that..."

"So I was right?"

He sighed. Maybe he was going to regret bringing the topic up. "Yes Naminé, you were right."

"I just thought that would be how you looked, it's no big deal."

"Well, you've a way of nailing a guy's personality, Naminé."

"Heh, thanks." She thought for a moment, then turned sharply towards him.

"Was that a compliment?" she asked.

He smirked. "I don't know. Was it?"

"You're so mean!"

"But since you know my personality so well, you should have known that."

Naminé pushed him. Caught off guard, he landed face-first onto the ground. Naminé laughed insanely. She didn't expect to get him that bad. That was twice now.

"Ow..." he muttered. "You know, usually this would be the time where you'd ask someone if they were okay." Riku pulled himself up and shot her a withering look which he was unable to keep. The corners of his mouth pricked upwards into a smile. A happy smile. Naminé stopped laughing. She was amazed to see how beautiful he looked by such a simple thing.

"I hit my nose!" he exclaimed, which only made her start again.

"What are you going to do to make it up to me Naminé?" he asked, grabbing her hands and looking into her face.

"Do you want me to kiss it better?" she retorted slyly. Riku let go of her and turned away very quickly.

"Um, no. That's alright, I think I can manage. Come on, let's keep moving." He started walking just as quickly away. Naminé almost had to jog to keep up with him.

"Slow down!" she yelled. Riku laughed and broke into a sprint.

"Hey! Get back here!" she cried, running after him.

_**Author's Note**_

_**Wow, it's been a while since I updated. I couldn't believe how long it had been when I looked at the date. I have a few things to admit; the "bear my child" reference is one that comes from watching way too much Inuyasha. Ah, our dear, perverted Miroku... Also, the meaning of life is a reference from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy's Trilogy of Five, lol.**_

_**This has only been proof-read twice, so if you spot any mistakes, please tell me so I can correct them!**_

_**Thanks for reading this latest chapter everyone! Your encouragement and critique always keep me motivated, and though I'm a little stuck as to where to go from here, I'll try my best to get the next chapter up soon. Reviews are always welcome! Thanks again!**_

_**PS, on a COMPLETELY irrelevant side note...**_

_**If anyone who reads this reads Death Note and has read number twelve, could they PM me? Because I really wanna talk about it and everyone else seems too obsessed with the new Pothead book to even bother reading it. I know it sounds weird, but the fan girl in me wants out dammit!! Thanks!**_


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Riku wasn't sure if he wanted to drop to his knees or scream in relief now that they had arrived. Both he and Naminé stared silently at the gates of Twilight Town.

"We're here," he said sombrely, fully knowing he was stating the obvious.

"Yup," she replied with a nod. If things had been awkward before, it was now where it became most apparent. They were here. Their journey was over.

"What happens now?" he asked.

"We've got to go to the mansion across town."

"Sora's there?"

"Yes."

"Do you think King Mickey and Diz will be there too?"

"Probably."

They lingered at the gates a little while longer, before Naminé finally decided to grab his hand and guide him forward into the town.

"No point in staring at it all day," she said with a smile. Riku wasn't quite sure if he was supposed to reply or not, so he kept his mouth shut and let her lead the way. The place was beautiful, and as he walked through it he often slowed down to take in the sights only to feel the tug of his hand to tell him to keep up. He was fascinated with the town, from the small, narrow back-alleys to gigantic clock tower, its shadow looming above them like a great harbinger of mystery. The buildings were strange but eye-catching, and though some of the residents gave him some strange glances they seemed friendly enough. After a while Naminé looked back at him.

"What do you think of the place?"

"I like it. Reminds me of Traverse Town, though it's more peaceful."

"I've never been there," Naminé said with a shrug.

"It's nice. Full of lights."

"Night time here is wonderful. The stars are really bright, and there's an amazing view from Sunset Hill. Maybe I'll take..." Naminé stopped suddenly. Once they were at the Manor, Riku wouldn't want her company anymore. All he wanted was to get to Twilight Town. She wasn't naïve enough to think that they would stay friends. He wouldn't want her showing him around.

"Naminé?" Riku asked. She let go of his hand.

"It's nothing," she replied quickly. She went back to her explanation of the town. "Anyway, during the day, it always looks like Twilight, hence the name. People who come here find it hard to tell the time of day when they first arrive."

"Are they not fond of new people?" he questioned.

"No, in fact they love when they come. It gives them something to gossip about."

"So, in that case, why are they giving us these weird looks?"

Naminé hid a smile with her hand. "Have you forgotten about the state of your clothes?"

Riku looked down at his torn and tattered garments. He cringed. Obviously he had forgotten completely of his battle just days before.

"I wonder what Mickey will say," she wondered aloud. "It'll surprise him anyway."

"I don't want him worrying unnecessarily," Riku said bluntly, looking around.

"I'm sure he'd worry even if you weren't covered head to toe in blood."

Riku gave her a crooked smile. "I suppose he would. But that's the problem."

"He cares about you, Riku," she pointed out. "He's only thinking about your safety."

"The King has better things to be doing than worrying about me, Naminé, and you know that as well as I do."

"He needs you. You're his ally."

"I'm the thorn in his side."

"Don't say that."

"You know it's true."

Naminé had heard about King Mickey from one of the Organisation Members, Zexion, or had it been Zexius... She was never sure of his name. He would tell her things from time to time, because he loved showing off his intelligence more than anyone. By the sound of it, Mickey seemed to be a very influential person in the world and was respected by many people. He'd written many reports about the relationship between darkness and light. He was one of the chosen keyblade wielders, and people in the grey and dark feared him for his unrivalled power. She had to admit, she was curious as to why he took such interest in Riku, a fallen keyblade master. There was no doubt that he was powerful, but, when it all came down to it, Riku was just a boy. Was he interested in him because he was a human that lived in grey, or was it something else? It was an aspect of his character that was undeniably attractive. It drew people to him without reason. It was what drew her to him in the first place.

Three teenagers whizzed by on skateboards, laughing. Riku smiled, his expression a mixture nostalgia and regret. He briefly wondered when he had lost that innocence and ability to be so carefree. It seemed like the days building the raft to explore new worlds was so long ago...

But now was not the time to open that door to his past. Though he could feel the memories welling up inside him, the happy ones, the sad, and the ones that haunted his dreams, he could not deal with it. He had to persist. When this was all over, maybe he could open that door and sort out his feelings properly. Sometimes he wondered if that time came, would he even know what he was anymore, or even where to begin. Would they overwhelm him? Would he be able to handle the tsunami of emotions that he had kept locked away for so long? Or had he become so desensitised to it all that nothing would bother him? Did it even matter anymore? Pushing the thoughts furiously away for now, he turned his attention to Naminé.

"This town is so...normal."

"It's never been invaded by Heartless. I guess that's all thanks to you, Sora and the King."

That day was another memory Riku never wanted to remember.

"You make it sound so heroic," he said bitterly.

"Don't lessen what you did. You saved a lot of people."

"Yeah, yeah." He waved his hand in dismissal. "Forget about it. It wasn't that great, honestly."

Naminé hid a smile. "Okay, Riku."

A cry erupted from in front of them. One of the boys was lying in a heap on the floor, unmoving. The two others jumped off their skateboards to tend to their friend. Riku ran to where they were situated.

"What happened?" he asked, addressing the girl. She had long hair that fell to her shoulders. Her panic-stricken face was unmistakable.

"Our friend, H-Hayner," she stammered. "He fell, he's really hurt." Riku nodded whilst lifting the boy's limbs, checking for breakages.

"He's just knocked out," he said. "Naminé!" Riku waved the blonde girl over.

"Could you use a cure spell on him? He'll probably have a slight concussion otherwise."

"Yeah, sure." Naminé concentrated slightly for a moment before releasing the spell. Hayner blinked and his eyes opened. Both his friends faces fell into expressions of relief.

"Thanks bud," the other, slightly chubbier boy said, slapping Riku on the back. The girl helped Hayner up.

"Thanks Olette," Hayner said gratefully. "Appreciate the spell," he continued, giving Naminé a wink.

"Pence, grab his skateboard," Olette ordered. "Bye guys, thanks again!"

The pair watched them walk away before proceeding through the town. Naminé's thoughts continued to lie on Riku. He was such a nice person, always thinking of other people. She wondered why she hadn't realised that until now, seeing him with those people. Sure, he acted tough, but when it came to helping a person in need, he would be there instantly. He never looked for thanks or gratification, it was just his nature to be kind. She hoped that someday she could be half as selfless as he was.

"Were, you, Kairi and Sora like that?" she asked offhandedly, referring to the teenagers they had just met.

"I suppose," he replied. "We were very close. The only thing that was ever able to separate us was our world getting swallowed up by darkness."

"I'm not sure if that was a joke or not," she said.

"Afraid to laugh?"

"Very much so."

"I don't mind, go ahead if you want."

"A day will come Riku, when you'll be back at home together and this time will be nothing but a distant memory. You'll be able to laugh all you want then."

"Same goes for you. Are there people waiting for you back at your hometown?" Naminé shook her head and let out a short, rueful laugh.

"No, there are some places you can never return to."

"Why? Because of your guardians?"

"...I suppose you could say that." Her voice had a distant quality to it; a tone he couldn't possibly understand.

"Naminé?"

"It's nothing, it's just still a bit of a touchy subject, that's all. Can we talk about something else?"

"Okay." Riku thought for a moment before posing his question. "If you don't mind me asking, why did you join Organisation XIII in the first place?"

"I guess, I was trying to make amends for some of the mistakes I made. All I did was create more trouble for everyone."

"Hindsight's twenty-twenty," he said. "If we could tell the future, we'd be much better off."

"Here we are," she interrupted. Riku could only speculate as to how more blatant she could be at avoiding his question. His eyes turned a gaping hole in the wall that ran through the main square of the town.

"Forgot to keep up with the maintenance?" he noted with a laugh.

"No actually," she replied, grinning at his comment. "The kids of the town love to play in the woods beyond, and though the wall's been fixed four times, they break it down again in the space of a week." She ducked her head and stepped through. Riku followed her into the wood. He stopped and inhaled sharply. This was not a safe place to be. The air held an aura of malice, and a scent that was akin to darkness, yet not like it at all.

"What is it?" Naminé questioned.

"The smell," he muttered. "It's different, dangerous. I don't like it." His whole body became tense, ready to fight. His senses heightened from adrenaline, even the faint rustling of the trees made him uneasy.

"Oh, that. It's not dangerous. It's a special type of pollen secreted from a tree called the Rebra tree. This wood is filled with them. The pollen repels Heartless. That's why children can come and play here safely.

"Rebra," Riku repeated pensively. "Wait, darkness sleeps in me. Why haven't I been repelled?"

"You're uneasy, aren't you? Then I'd say it's working." Naminé gave her partner a lopsided grin, to which he sighed exasperatedly.

"You're in the grey, Riku, that's why. That's also why Nobodies appear from time to time. In this forest, there's also another tree, the Berra, which acts in the opposite way. But its pollen has to be extracted, as it's not secreted."

"Has it ever been used?" he asked. He wondered who would ever want to repel light, besides the Heartless, obviously.

"Well, I guess so. We wouldn't know about it otherwise. I haven't heard any stories of it being used though, sorry."

"Don't be sorry," he said dismissively. "I was just wondering, that's all." Riku took a few steps into the wood, trying to shake off his anxiety. It wasn't working. No matter how hard he tried to avoid it, the air in the place was suffocating to him.

"Hey," Naminé said, putting her hand on his shoulder worriedly. "You okay?"

"Yeah. Can we just get through this place quickly? It's not right to stay here."

Naminé nodded wordlessly. Together they walked until the trees thinned and revealed the image of a gigantic mansion. Riku craned his neck to take in the view. Naminé hung back apprehensively.

"Is this it?" Riku asked.

"Yes, this is it," Naminé replied, though her words held a distinctly different meaning. She sighed. How had she been so stupid? This day had been coming ever since they had set out.

"This is it alright."

_**Author's Note:**_

_**Um...wow. Hi everyone, it's been a while. I can't give excuses for the lack of an update, I'm just a terrible, terrible person, that's all. Sorry. I can't believe it took me six chapters to finally get them to interact with other people. In a way, I'm glad they're here now as I can change the scenery, lol. This fic still has a bit to go, so please bear with me as I think of where to bring it. Thank you everyone for your wonderful encouragement, reviews and favourites, I'm so grateful for every single one. I know I sound like a broken record, as I say it at the end of every chapter, but reviews do mean a lot to me. The fact that people read my stuff means a lot to me also. **_

_**This fanfic is a difficult one for me, as I'm trying to get them to develop their feelings for each other slowly. With Cloud and Aeris, it was easy. They already did love each other; it was clear from the very beginning and I didn't have to build on that. That's why this fic can be the most painful thing in the world, but writing some of the scenes has at the same time been the most rewarding fun I've ever had. That's why I'm glad if you stick with it.**_

_**I hope you all enjoyed reading,**_

_**LastCetra.**_


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"It's locked," Riku said, gesturing to the gate.

"Well aren't you the master of the obvious," she retorted bluntly, rolling her eyes.

"How do we get-"

"MICKEY!" she yelled in interruption, at the top of her lungs. Riku jumped a little, surprised at how loud she could actually be. "HEY DIZ! MICKEY!!!!"

"You're drawing attention to us."

"That's just the whole point of me doing this, isn't it?"

Riku just shut his mouth and folded his arms, thinking that perhaps he should be quiet. She was, after all, yelling loud enough for the both of them. He kept watch for enemies as Naminé rattled the gate and bellowed at the mansion.

Two circular ears appeared out of one of the top windows, soon followed by the head of Mickey Mouse. Riku's face broke out into a smile upon seeing his comrade.

"Your Majesty!" he said with a wave.

Mickey's face turned to look at them. His smile turned into an expression of worry at the sight of their tattered clothing.

"Hold on!" he squeaked. "I'll be right down."

"Told you so." He muttered to Naminé, who just shot him a withering look.

The enormous iron gates seemed to swing magically open, unhindered by any force. The mouse, true to his word emerged before the pair.

"What happened? Are you alight?"

"We're fine," Naminé assured him. "We're not hurt."

"But, Heartless don't bleed. How did you lose so much-?"

"I was careless," Riku said bluntly, cutting across him. "I promise it won't happen again."

"But-"

"Don't worry about it." Green-blue eyes gave him a look that told him not to ask any more questions. Sighing, he reluctantly granted him the liberty.

"Come on in then," he said with feigned merriment. "You've had a long journey."

Naminé and Riku allowed themselves to be led inside. The teen's head once again craned to take in all his surroundings. The garden was wide and expansive; several elegant statues and fountains grazed the lush green grass that swayed slightly in the wind. This bourgeoisie-style was continued into the mansion itself; light ceilings and expensive furniture adorned the expansive rooms, their extensive detail further adding to the overall majesty of the place.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Naminé said, nudging him. All Riku could do was numbly bow his head in nutation.

"What was your journey like?" Mickey asked.

"Oh, it was long, very long," Naminé replied cheerfully. "We had to walk for _ages_ every day..."

Riku allowed their nonsensical small talk to drift out of his concentration and wondered about what they were going to do now that they were here. How was he going to find Roxas? When would he be able to see Sora? Was his friend okay?

"...and BAM! Straight into his chest! And then the glass..."

"Are you going to take me to Sora?" Riku asked. Naminé realised she was talking too much by his blunt interjection and blushed, bowing her head in a slight apology.

"Of course," Mickey replied, oblivious to their silent understanding. "But first we're going to see Diz." The mouse led them down to a secret laboratory from the library by completing a little puzzle. Riku almost laughed at how crazily cliché it was. Several monitors littered the room, though only two were switched on, acting as surveillance for the mansion. There was probably a very good reason for the other screens, but as of the moment Riku was standing there staring at them, he thought the myriad amount was both incredibly pointless and wasteful.

A tall, imposing figure strode in from a door in the corner of the room, distracting Riku immediately from his surroundings. Though his face was swathed in bandages, it made him no less recognisable. His golden eyes were unmistakable, enough to burn themselves into the boy's memory for as long as he would live.

"Hello Riku," he said. Somehow, his greeting held no warmth for him. Amber eyes looked the teen up and down impassively, and then turned to his comrade. Though she had never met him before, she involuntarily shrank away from his penetrating gaze.

"This must be Naminé," he stated. He wasn't looking for an answer.

"Um, hi Diz," she replied, uncomfortably raising her hand in greeting. She received no reply. The man turned on his heel and walked back to the door he had just emerged from. When nobody followed, he stopped.

"I assume you want to see your friend." Riku nodded and went after him. After a brief moment of vacillation, so did Naminé and Mickey.

The place was surreal. Though it passed as a normal white room, a haze seeped through it from an unknown source, which blurred his eyes and made everything seem like an illusion of sorts. Riku's hand reflexively reached for the wall to steady himself, and his gaze remained locked on the crimson colour of Diz's fluttering cape. He was so absorbed in fighting vertigo that before he knew it, the person for whom he had been searching for so long was right in front of him.

"Sora." His mouth barely dared to utter the word. He looked at him; unable to choose if what he was seeing was horrifying or not. The white pod that encased him was unearthly and downright alien to everything he had so far experienced. He wondered if it had any power to restore Sora, or was this memory alteration but a premise for another, more sinister motive. Common sense begged to differ, as the King was willingly involved in this whole mess also. Nevertheless, doubts forever niggled their way into his mind. Perhaps mistrust was now a firm trait of his.

Sora had gotten taller since they had last met. It was evident that his clothes were now far too small. Riku absently thought that they would soon be the same height.

"You fool," he muttered. "You shouldn't have done this to yourself. You were supposed to take care of Kairi for me, right?"

It was in that little, insignificant sentence, he finally felt the weight of his burdens over the past year. The darkness, his journey, all the worry had just become too much. Desolation and despair flooded Riku's mind and heart. He could feel the shadows of his nefarious self returning; the shadows that never allowed him solace, but sought to drag him down to nothingness.

"Stop worrying about me!" he screamed at his friend's sleeping form. His fist curled and pounded frantically at the glass. "It's not your job, I'm not worth losing your memories over...Sora..." Exhaustion crept into Riku's limbs and he sank to his knees, his head resting against the cool glass of the white capsule. Angry sighs escaped his worn body.

"You idiot," he whispered. "You stupid idiot."

Diz and Mickey quickly exited. Only Naminé remained, unsure of what to do, yet feeling immeasurable guilt. She was, after all, completely responsible for Sora's state. Which meant she was also responsible for this moment. Why did she forever fail to think of the consequences to her actions? It had happened then, not even a year ago, and here it was again.

Naminé took a trembling step forward, and another, and another until she stood next to Riku. Chaos swirled in his eyes; a mixture of shame, fear and love for his friend harshly fighting for prominence. The conflict only brought confusion and darkness. Was this the real Riku? She had never seen him look so...vulnerable. He reminded her of a small, scared boy, not the strong, stoic and resolute young man she had come to know.

Her whole body shaking, she reached out to place her hand on his head. Though Riku did not want this sort of attention, he felt far too weak to tell her to go away. Well, he could tell himself that all he wanted. What he really was looking for was some sort of comfort, any sort of comfort. Not receiving any sort of protest, she knelt down and gently pulled his head to rest against her chest.

"Shh," she said, trying to give him whatever support she could to ease her own aching guilt. "It's okay, Riku. It'll be okay."

The boy did not reply, but his fingers raised up to curl tightly around the material of her dress, locking them in an unintentional embrace. Naminé, though surprised, did not show her initial reaction; instead rocked his body soothingly back and forth. Tears spilled from her eyes as she cradled him.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered. "It's all my fault." No more words left her mouth. They would be unnecessary now, and for some reason she thought Riku would not want or need to hear them. She gratefully let silence envelope them both.

Riku lay against her, desperately clutching the white fabric. What did he think he was doing? If he had been anyway sane or logical, he would not be here, opening himself up so much to this woman. Why was his brain not listening to reason.

He guessed that his sanity had flown out the window, logic was irrelevant and reason had fallen out of his pocket somewhere back along the road to Castle Oblivion. Oddly enough, he didn't feel like retreating them all too much. Besides, he kind of liked where he was now. He felt protected, safe. Something had stirred inside him; it was like someone had squeezed his insides really quickly, sending a pang through his whole body. He wondered what it was; he had never felt anything like that before.

Riku's silver-head lifted up to look into Naminé's tear streaked face. Her eyes held no pity. She wasn't judging him. He felt strangely grateful for that.

"Stop crying," he said. "Please stop crying."

Naminé hiccoughed and nodded, letting go of him to furiously wipe her eyes.

"Sorry, sorry," she replied. "I'm such a baby." Riku said nothing, but slackened his grip and straightened himself up. His cheeks reddened, slightly embarrassed by how he'd acted.

"We'd um, better head back," he said.

"Yeah."

Taking one last look at Sora, they both vacated the room. Mickey and Diz were talking in low voices. The mouse glanced at Riku furtively, but held his tongue.

"It's time you got some rest," Diz deadpanned. "Riku, I'll show you to your room."

"I'll take you to yours, Naminé," Mickey squeaked. Naminé started to follow him out of one door, and Riku looked to where Diz was walking in the opposite direction. And before he knew what he was doing he shouted it.

"Wait!"

The blonde girl stopped instantly, her bowed head snapping up. She turned, and they stared at each other silently, unsure of what to say or do. Riku lingered; now that she was leaving he realised that this would be the first time they would be apart in almost a week. He should have been feeling happy, elated almost, that she would no longer be in his company, and pose the burden that she did.

But she had saved his life, helped him, talked to him, made him laugh...

"Um," he said, scratching the back of his head. "I'll, uh, see you later?"

Naminé's eyes softened, and her mouth formed into a little 'o' of surprise.

"Yeah."

* * *

Bliss had never come so easily. Naminé had never thought that a simple shower and a soft bed was all it took for supreme happiness, but as she lay on the bed, she had never felt so good. Now. Her matted hair was brushed, its original colour now plainly visible. She was wearing an oversized shirt as a nightdress Mickey had rummaged out for her from the wardrobe. It was a little musty, but it was clean at least.A soft knock on the door interrupted her reverie. 

"Come on in," she called. A silver head poked inside.

"Hey, Naminé," Riku said.

"Riku! Hi!" Naminé groaned inwardly at how high pitched her voice sounded. She coughed. "How are you?"

"Clean," he remarked, looking at his outstretched hands. "I'm very clean. It's amazing."

"I know. For a while I wondered if my skin was always that colour."

Riku laughed. Naminé stared briefly at his hair. No longer dirty, it shone magnificently in the dim light from her bedside lamp. How in the worlds was he able to get such a shine from simple shampoo? She looked down ruefully at her own tresses and scowled.

"You alright?" he asked.

"It's nothing important," she said. "Really."

"Well, okay." He raised his hand to his forehead. Gloves removed, it was the first time Naminé had ever seen his fingers. They were small, pale. They raked through his hair as he sighed.

"I'm tired," he said, though it seemed like he was talking to no one in particular. He paused, as if he were unsure about something. "Listen, Naminé. About earlier..."

"Already forgotten," she replied automatically, raising both her hands in defence.

"No, that's not it," he said, shaking his head from side to side. "Just, thank you, okay?"

"Yeah, no problem," she replied with a smile.

Riku nodded. For a second, he looked like he was about to say something more, but he didn't. He turned and left, closing the door quietly behind him.

_**Author's Notes:**_

_**No, I'm not going to make it that easy! Even if Naminé was a sleeping beauty that could only wake up from a kiss by Riku I don't think he would till he "got to know her better." And yes, I am aware of the paradox in that last statement, so shoot me. Ahhh, they'll get there eventually, I promise!**_

_**This was rushed, cause tonight was my only night off from work all week, so it's not proof-read. Any mistakes spotted I would be glad to hear of.**_

_**Thank you everyone for all your kind reviews, I love reading them, so keep them coming if you have the time. Sorry for the three month delay. Work and college can be hard to juggle sometimes. Right now, I'm writing this when I should be writing an essay on Beowulf. NOT AS FUN AS IT SOUNDS. All in the pursuit of the English language people!!**_

_**Anyway, thanks for reading, and hoped you enjoyed this chapter! Muchos love.**_

_**LastCetra.**_

**_EDIT: Blatent forgetfulness on my part, thanks to Riku no Kage for the heads up!_**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

_It was bound to happen sometime, I knew I couldn't keep this a secret forever._

_That said...if I still had the option, I wouldn't have told him. _

_I never would have told him._

_Because..._

Naminé could feel the heat rising from the flames. They consumed the objects of the house in an angry fervour that singed her clothes and skin. Her sandals beat continuously on the hardwood floor as she ran through the house, calling their names over and over again. It was becoming harder and harder to see; thick black smoke had diffused through the air, blanketing the room. She coughed, expelling the dirt from her lungs. She had to find them, get them out of this place.

Naminé burst into their bedroom on the second floor. She screamed as she witnessed a beam crash thunderously down from the ceiling, and launched herself out of the way. Landing hard on the ground, she silently cursed as she saw it had blocked her only exit. Slowly pulling herself up, she rubbed her eyes to see through the smoke.

It was the light of the fire that showed her what she had been dreading. Naminé's eyes widened in horror as she saw them slumped on the floor. Her head shook from side to side, in frantic disbelief, desperate to deny the reality in front of her. Spurred to action, she ran to the bedroom window and opened it, relieved to feel a trickle of cool air rush in. Taking a deep breath, she screamed at the cluster of people gathered outside for help, before returning to the two figures on the floor.

Her vision was becoming spotted, cloudy. Her eyes drooped slightly, and she snapped them open quickly, admonishing herself.

"I didn't mean..." she pleaded. "I'm sorry."

Naminé's eyes closed completely and she collapsed on the floor.

* * *

It took several deep breaths to calm her trembling body. As she sat upright, wishing the nightmare away, she wondered how long it had been since that particular dream had disturbed her night's sleep. Bare arms hugged herself as she looked out the window at the woods. It was so dark, so quiet, nothing at all like her world. She was in Twilight Town. She was alone. She was no longer there anymore. It was history.

Yet it was history that was still to close, too fresh, too real.

Naminé drew her knees to her chest and sighed as she put her head in her hands.

"Damn it," she whispered.

* * *

Morning brings about many things. New days, new beginnings. Riku leaned his head against the backboard of his bed and watched silently as light slowly broke through the horizon; it's bright tendrils over-powering the darkness and seeping across the light of Twilight Town. As the sun travelled upward, going about its daily routine, he couldn't help but feel that things were starting to change. That soon, once this last hurdle was leapt, he could go back to being a normal person, with normal friends and family, on his normal island. A quiet, lazy and interrupted life didn't sound like much of a bad offer now after what they'd all been through in the last year.

It felt nice to have woken up in a bed. Over the past few days, weeks even, he had been sleeping rough constantly. It was only a small pleasure, but his back wasn't aching and tense, and his sleep wasn't restless or agitated. Yes, he knew that Heartless could travel inside houses, but the threat was always less in a building. The loss of the adrenaline rush he had been carrying for so long left him sleepy and slightly sluggish, but Riku couldn't have cared less. The King was here, and the King would take care of any dangers. It wasn't his responsibility anymore.

It was as if on cue, said mouse burst into the room.

"Get up, Riku!" he squeaked. "It's morning time!"

Riku groaned.

* * *

"Look who I found," Mickey proclaimed, presenting a dishevelled, bleary-eyed Riku to Naminé and Diz. While the mouse had been out, there lay a stony silence between the two. Naminé was not sure how exactly to approach Diz in conversation and the man didn't seem eager to assist her in bridging that gap. Even now, as Naminé greeted Riku, he sat chewing his toast quietly.

"Didn't want to get up?" she asked good-naturedly. Riku shook his head and made his way slowly to the kitchen table. The place could hardly be called a kitchen though; old statues were strewn in a frenzied, sporadic manner about the room. Most had large, white sheets draped over them, the others stood dejected, broken. A little gas cooker graced one corner of the room, where a table stood beside it to hold miscellaneous objects like the toaster Diz had just used.

"Would you like something to eat, Riku?" Naminé pressed, trying to receive an answer.

"Cereal," he responded automatically. Whenever his mother offered him food in the morning, it was his immediate answer. After a two second delay, he followed with a small "please." Naminé grabbed some off the table, poured it into a bowl and offered it to him, complete with a glass and spoon. Riku took it wordlessly, giving his blonde comrade a single nod in thanks.

"So," Riku started, pouring the milk into the bowl. "What's the game plan?"

"Game...plan?" Diz asked with a dead laugh. "Boy, this is no game of football." He took another bite of his toast.

"How do you do that?" Naminé asked offhandedly, referring to Diz.

"Do what?" he answered, his tone testing, warning her not to continue.

"Chew toast quietly."

Riku snorted into his soggy cereal flakes. Mickey hid a smile. Naminé waited patiently for an answer, looking at Diz in a strange mixture of bewilderment and curiosity. Diz placed the piece of food on his plate and pushed it away.

"I do not care much for my eating habits to be scrutinised," he said flatly. "You would do well to remember that."

"Yeah, but I was just-"

"Naminé!" he barked.

"It was just a question!" Riku exclaimed, slamming his palms on the table and pushing himself up in a flurry of motion. His chair knocked to floor with a resounding clatter. "Don't take your bad mood out on her!"

Diz's golden eyes turned almost robotically to stare at Riku. The teenager glared back in obvious anger.

"Now everyone!" Mickey squeaked. "We're all friends here. We've enough to be fighting without each other too!"

Riku remained stubborn, making sure his eyes were kept firmly in Diz's gaze. The man stared back apathetically, before his own eyes shadowed with a bare hint on annoyance. Diz broke eye contact and exited the room swiftly, his cape fluttering briefly as he left, a reminder of his lingering presence.

"What's his problem?" Riku demanded.

"He is a strange one alright," Mickey assented. "But he's wise, extremely talented when it comes to technology and has been helpful to our cause, so be nice, okay?"

"He shouldn't insult us like that," he argued. "We're not kids."

"Diz is not the type to be teased I'd say," Mickey laughed.

"He's not the type to talk much either," Naminé sulked. "It won't win him any friends, that's for sure."

"You looking for a boyfriend, Naminé?" Riku teased lightly.

"No!" she exclaimed, blushing, until realisation dawned on her and a sly grin crept across her face. "Well, all those bandages...it's kind of a turn on..."

"Naminé!" Riku admonished in disbelief. Mickey laughed.

"Anyway, Naminé's fetishes aside," he began, rummaging around in his pocket. "You two need clothes." His hand re-emerged with some munny, which he threw to Naminé. The spherical tender was juggled in her hands as she fumbled with it.

"Go out for a while and shop," he said. "After the week you've just had, you've earned it."

"Your Majesty," Riku began. "Can you really afford-"

"Thanks a million Mickey!" Naminé interrupted cheerily. "We'll bring you back some sea-salt ice-cream!" Shoving the munny in her bag, she grabbed Riku's hand and dragged him out the door.

* * *

"How about this one?"

"No."

"This one?"

"No."

"This-"

"No."

"Alright, this one then."

"No."

Riku heaved a tremendous sigh and slammed the shirt back on the rail.

"It's plain. It's a shirt. It's functional."

"And it looks ridiculous. You'd look like a middle-aged man with an identity crisis," Naminé argued with a laugh.

"Remind me why you had to come with me for this?"

"After the fashion disaster you've been wearing for the past year? I don't think you need it to be pointed out to you."

"Fine. You pick one then."

"I will," she replied with a smug smile, the kind that made Riku realise his mistake instantly. He cringed.

"Wait, on second thought I don't-"

"Too late!" she exclaimed, and disappeared among the stacks of clothing. Riku's eyes tried to trace her steps, but she was too small. It was only every so often that he noticed her blonde hair poking up over some rail, but she soon became lost to him again.

It was at that moment he wondered what it would be like if they were living together. Would she always be like that, running around, laying out his clothes in the morning, cooking his food... Could she even cook? He had no idea. Sure, they had all the instant stuff in their bags while they were on the road, but that wasn't exactly cooking. She could very well be an abomination when it came to the task. Naminé, the cooking monster. He chuckled quietly at the thought.

His thoughts continued to wander. What would it be like if they just sat down with a bowl of popcorn and watched a movie? What would it be like if she woke up next to him in the morning, her golden hair tousled, giving him a sleepy smile? What if she pushed his own hair out of his eyes? What if she...

"You look happy," Naminé said warmly. "What are you thinking about?"

"Hmm?" Riku replied. "Oh, nothing important." He straightened himself up and turned his back on her quickly. Naminé walked around to face him again.

"You sure?" she asked. "Is it embarrassing?" She grabbed his arm. "Is it dirty??"

"What? No!!"

"You're being awfully defensive."

"Give me a look at the clothes you picked out then," he said quickly, a desperate attempt to change the subject. He grabbed the garments from her hands and sifted through them.

"Okay," he said. "Sneakers with yellow laces, a sleeveless top, a _waistcoat_? Naminé, what are you thinking?"

"I know they don't look good on their own but together they'll look really cool, I promise."

"I'm not wearing this," Riku said flatly.

"Do you want me to keep bugging you on what you were just thinking about?" she countered.

Riku sighed. "I'll go to the dressing room."

* * *

**Author's note:**

**And there you have it. Another long wait, another chapter. Thanks for the reviews and watches everyone! I'll get the next chapter up as soon as I can!!**

**LastCetra.**


	9. Chapter 9

_**Chapter 9**_

_"Naminé!!"_

_Hearing her name being called, she turned towards the origin of the voice. There stood two young girls, one holding a sketchbook and some crayons, the other holding a sunflower._

_"Naminé, how do you draw these so well? Ours don't look half as good as yours."_

_"It's not all to hard really," she replied. Gently taking the pad from her hands, she sat down on the grass and started drawing._

_"See, the flower has an energy. It moves in the wind, and its petals respond to the sun. Once you can figure out what kind of energy it has, it's really easy to draw its shape." She finished, sweeping the yellow crayon across the page. "There," she stated, showing the picture to the two girls. "No problem."_

_"You say that," the girl replied, looking at the flower in gloomily. "But we can't do it at all." Naminé laughed and ruffled her hair._

_"You'll get it eventually. Just keep practising for now."_

* * *

"How about we get some sea-salt ice-cream?" Naminé suggested to Riku whilst passing the stand. "You haven't lived till you tried it."

"I just can't see how ice-cream made with salt is nice," he replied sceptically. "And thinking about it, what man would mix vanilla and sea-salt as it is?"

"He was a genius," Naminé said solemnly.

"I can imagine you," Riku said with a laugh. "'And so, we salute _you_, Mr Sea-Salt ice-cream inventor!'"

"You're terrible!" she exclaimed.

"But I look good, so it cancels it out, right?"

"I knew it would suit you perfectly. You just don't have my vision."

"Why didn't you pick something different for yourself?"

"Hey, white looks good on me. If there's nothing wrong then there's no point in trying to fix it. You end up making a complete mess." Naminé stepped into the queue for the ice-cream.

"Why?" she said innocently. "Does my butt look big in this?"

"Ooooh no," Riku replied quickly. "You're not drawing me into that kind of conversation."

"Ah, snap. You're no fun!"

* * *

_"Why were you out so late, Naminé? We've told you before, eleven at the latest on a week night."_

_"Look, I wasn't hanging out with them," Naminé argued. "Can't I go for a walk on my own at all?"_

_"Not at three in the morning!" Noel retorted angrily. "Don't you understand that it's dangerous at that time?"_

_"Dad, it's a village. No one is going to jump out and murder me."_

_"That's not what I'm worried about," he murmured. Naminé, however, just about heard it. She sighed angrily._

_"Oh, I see. You're afraid of what I might do, right?"_

_"Enough, Naminé," Lillian said sharply. She was caught immediately in her mother's piercing glare. "You know the rumours going around. You can make your drawings real, make things happen. They're calling you a witch. If this behaviour continues, you'll be forced to leave this village. You'll be alone, ostracised by the world. Is that what you want?"_

_Naminé didn't reply. Lillian took a sharp step forward._

_"Is it?" she repeated. Naminé let her eyes fall to the floor._

_"No."_

* * *

"I can't believe how nice this is," Riku stated in shock. The ice-cream was no longer held gingerly between his fingers. "It's amazing."

"Pretty good, eh?" she replied with a smile, one that was currently conveying to Riku that she told him so. The teen ignored it for the sake of the ice-cream.

"So, you were showing me around then?" he offered in an attempt to change the conversation.

"Yes, I need to take you to the train station, Sunset Hill, and...oh! I'll show you where the Struggle Tournament it held. It's coming up soon, you should enter. You would win for sure, Riku!"

"Struggle?"

"You get to hit people with Styrofoam bats!"

Riku hid his face in his palm. "Of course. Cause all I want to do with my life is hit people with Styrofoam bats. That's my ideal day, right there."

"It's fun. Give it a try. You might actually enjoy yourself."

"And you say I'm terrible?"

* * *

_"Lillian and I have come to a decision, Naminé," Noel said. His voice was sad, yet held firm. "We think it's time that you quit drawing."_

_"No," she replied. "That's not going to happen."_

_"We know this is hard for you honey," Lillian interjected, laying her hand on Naminé's shoulder. Naminé looked at it in disdain, but made no attempt to move it. "We understand how drawing is an important part of your life. But it isn't what makes your life. You have friends, family, people who care about you. We want to protect both them and you."_

_"You're not worried about protecting me," Naminé said. "All you care about is your own reputation; what the neighbours might say."_

_"That's uncalled for," she spat. _

_"I'm not giving up drawing," Naminé said flatly._

_"It's not a request," Noel replied. "As long as you live under this roof, you'll follow our rules and do what we say. No exceptions."_

_"You don't know how easily I can fix that," Naminé muttered, grabbing her sketchpad and storming out the door._

* * *

"Sunset hill!" Naminé proclaimed. "Isn't it beautiful? You can see the whole town from here."

"It's really something," he said wistfully, taking in the spectacle that was Twilight Town. It was nearing the end of the day, and the mixture of tones in the sky deepened, becoming more prominent and bold. Amber, pink, violet and red fused together, creating a canvas of colour. He wasn't even here a day, yet this place made him feel so comfortable, so peaceful.

Or maybe it was her.

He looked at her; hair golden in the waning light, eyes sparkling with a warmth that eased any worries he had away. She twirled about in the open space, laughing at the ability to just throw her arms wide and spin, loving the sense of freedom it gave her. To Riku, it seemed like she had an ability to embrace life, embrace goodness. Over the past few days, he had felt himself changing. He smiled more, he talked more, he had more patience, he was having more fun than he had had in a long, long time. No one could change that quickly in that short a space of time. It had to be her influence.

It was then, for the first time, he _really_ looked at her. He looked at her as more than just another person. He looked at her as more than just a friend. Riku looked at Naminé and saw possibility. Endless possibility.

"Don't be so glum when you look at me," she laughed. "I'm not that ugly!"

"I'm sorry," he replied. "I was somewhere else."

"Did you like the place?" she asked. Her face could not conceal the grin. Riku smiled back.

"Yeah."

His words faded into the background and they stared at each other. Tension ran high between them at his cryptic words, and his failure to explain them. Something different was stirring between them, something they couldn't explain but couldn't possibly deny either. Feelings, actions, words: each fell away, useless. Only one thing remained, the only thing that could be processed by rational thought.

Connection. There was something that had brought them together, and though they could have left each other by now, it wasn't happening. It was like a string was tied to each of their bodies and they could only move so far away.

"Thank you," he said. "For showing me this."

"My pleasure," she replied quietly.

A strong wind started to pick up. With nothing to shelter them on the high rise, cold set in quickly. Naminé shivered.

"It gets like this when night time is coming. We'd better head back." She walked swiftly past him to the winding road that would lead them down to the train station. Stopping, she turned around to face him.

"It's...been a good day, Riku," she said. "I'm glad we could do this together."

Riku did not reply. Instead, he walked up to her and slipped his hand into hers. They looked at each other, only briefly, before they took off. They walked down to the train station in a comfortable silence, but constantly aware of the feel of the other's hand in theirs.

They entered the station. Many people were milling about, trying to get on the last train home, so, patiently, they stood at the end of the queue. Riku looked around as he usually did; scanning the area for potential threats.

"Hey," he said in a low voice, and gave Naminé a nudge. "That guy, leaning against the train. He looks strange, so keep your guard up, alright?"

"Where?" she asked, standing on her tip-toes to see over the crowd.

"There." He gestured towards him surreptitiously with his free hand. "Spiky red hair."

Naminé stiffened. Riku felt her hand curl around his, tighter and tighter.

"What?" he asked worriedly. "Who is it?"

The man looked up and saw them. A grin came over his face, giving Riku a feeling that this guy was simply insane. He pushed his flaming-red hair back to reveal emerald eyes, decorated underneath by two thin red scars.

"It's Axel," she breathed.

* * *

_Naminé awoke on a hill, the same hill she always went to when she wanted to draw. Usually, she was alone, but this time a man stood a little ways away from her._

_"Good morning, little Missy," he said cheerfully. "Or should I say good night since it's dark and all?"_

_"Who are you?" she demanded._

_"I'm Axel," he replied, pointing his thumb to his chest. He grinned as he turned it around to give her a thumbs-up. "And I must say, you're one powerful lady!" He whistled as he looked down at the town, surveying the damage. Her own eyes turned to the flaming house below._

_"How did I get here?" she asked. "I, fainted..."_

_"I brought you here," he said. "We can't have you dying, you're a precious commodity to us. You really did a number on that place, you know that? I knew you were angry but, oh man, that was just carnage! And here I was, thinking I was the only person who could start a fire that well."_

_"I didn't mean-" she protested weakly. "I wasn't, they weren't supposed to be there at the time!" Her hand fell down to her side, coming into contact with her sketchbook. And there it was, exactly what was below. Her hands came to her mouth, feeling the gravity of what she had just done._

_"Are they...?" her voice couldn't finish the word._

_"Dead. Of course."_

_"How can you be so calm!?" she screamed. "You saved me, why didn't you save them!?"_

_"Because they were dead when I got there," he said, unruffled by her outburst. "Don't try to pin their death on me, or blame me for your mistakes. You were stupid, so face the consequences."_

_"They're dead, what else can be worse?"_

_"The whole town is after you head now. They think you're a witch, out to kill them all. You'll never be able to come back here."_

_"Don't you think I know that?" she yelled. "How do you think they'd feel, me acting like it never happened? Noel and Lillian were good people! Things can never be the same as they were before." She curled up into herself. They were dead. The life she had, the friends she had..._

_"I can't change the past, Axel."_

_"No, you can't change the past," he replied. "But your powers, Naminé, they can do so much more than bring images into reality. I work for an Organisation with people like us. Nobodies like us."_

_Her head snapped up. "How did you know?"_

_"I'm one too. We're not unlike each other, Naminé. I knew what you were right from the beginning. There are more of us. If you come with me, we can help you. We can't bring your parents back, but we can show you how to do other things."_

_"Like what?" she asked, eyes glistening, hanging on desperately to what seemed like her last hope._

_"We can change their memories. Make it like it never happened." He smiled, a twinkle could be seen in his eyes._

_"Make them forget."_

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Damn, this chapter was hard. The style is choppy and uncoordinated, but it's the only way I can think to write this one. Sorry if I bored anyone with the back-story. I need to get it out of the way so that I can move on. But YAY, Axel's been introduced! **

**I. Need. A. Day. Off.**

**Thank you everyone for you constant critique and encouragement! I more than love you, I wuv you! Next chapter will be up as soon as possible! Thanks for reading!**

**LastCetra.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

_Going forward is difficult. _

_Every time I try to look to the future, I'm dragged back to the past. _

_I don't want to live there anymore. I want..._

_I want..._

Riku broke out of Naminé's grip and raised his fists, spreading his legs apart slightly to achieve a firmer fighting stance. Naminé stepped back behind him nervously.

"What do you want?" he growled. Axel shook his head and laughed.

"Can't the Organisation call by every now and then for a cheerful howdy?"

Riku didn't reply. If anything, he became more angry. Naminé wasn't unsettled by anything to such a degree, and it annoyed him that Axel was able to do that to her. He wanted to pound that man's red-haired head against the train tracks.

Axel put his hands on his hips and pouted. "I guess not then. You know, I thought you'd be taller for some reason, Riku."

"Shut up." His voice told Axel immediately that he was not in the mood for games.

"Seriously, though. It must be the shoes he had on or something. That replica was damn accurate after all."

"Did I not just tell you to shut up?"

Axel laughed again, a gesture that continued to test Riku's patience.

"What are you going to do, fight me? In a train station full of innocent people? Which, by the way, are finding us rather interesting right about now."

Riku, slowly, hesitantly, lowered his hands, though he kept his fists curled.

"You're not taking me back," Naminé blurted out suddenly. "I'm not going to do what you want anymore!"

Axel turned his attention to from Riku to her, as if he'd just seen her for the first time. He grinned, making Naminé take another step backwards.

"Ahh, because now you're not alone, is that it? Because you have someone who'll tuck you in and kiss you goodnight?" Axel raked his fingers through his hair and sighed, the kind a parent would heave before lecturing a small child. "You had that before, but you messed that up _real_ good, didn't you?"

"Stop it," she said. Riku looked at her, confusion etched across his features.

"Naminé, what's he talking about?"

"Oh, how great is this!?" Axel said cheerfully, clapping his hands as if he had the most select piece of gossip ever heard. "So he doesn't know? When were you planning on telling him?"

"Please.." she whimpered.

"How do you know that you won't do it again? What if it's Riku this time? Then you really will have failed at being human."

Naminé couldn't take it. She didn't want to see the look on Riku's face when he found out. The disappointment he would feel. The shame in being associated with her, a cold-blooded murderer. All the trust they had built, gone, disappearing like water down a plug-hole. That thought alone was too much for her to bear.

So she ran.

Riku took a few steps forward to follow her, but the immediate threat of Axel kept him in the train station. He turned, raising his fists once more.

"You bastard," he said lowly. "What the fuck did you do to her?"

"Hmph," he replied, a smirk crawling across his face. "If you're so curious, why don't you go ask her yourself? It'll probably be more of a show coming from her anyway." He stretched and yawned; Riku couldn't help but compare his movement to a cat's. He was probably very quick on his feet, and a good fighter by the ways of his cocky attitude.

"Ugh, I'm bored, I'd better be off."

"Don't you dare walk away from me!" Riku yelled. He didn't even notice that the crowd had turned to stare at their engagement, but if he had, he would have hardly cared.

"A piece of advice, Riku, my man. I know your plans involve Roxas. If I were you, I'd leave him alone if you don't want your little girlfriend to get hurt." Axel waved his hand and a black portal ripped through the air.

"Nice meeting you!" He threw Riku a mock salute before disappearing through the darkness.

* * *

Riku pounded on the front door to the mansion. After several, agonising seconds, Mickey opened it, rubbing sleep from his tired, bloodshot eyes.

"Riku," he said wearily. "What's going on? Why are you getting back so late?"

"Naminé," he replied quickly. "Has Naminé come back yet?"

"No, not yet."

"She's been missing for over four hours now."

"I thought she was with you?"

"She was. But when we were coming back Axel showed up and she bolted."

The statement was a better stimulant than any coffee. Mickey started, becoming alert immediately.

"Axel? Riku, why didn't you come here sooner? That guy is bad news."

"Mickey, I've looked everywhere. I can't find her!"

"Did you fight him? Was he after Naminé?"

"No- I don't know, he was saying something about Roxas-"

"Roxas? Riku, how does he know we're after Roxas?"

"So, he's aware of our plan. That, will makes things more troublesome."

Riku and Mickey looked up into the face of Diz. His amber eyes glowed impassively in the half light of the oncoming morning. Riku could feel neither warmth nor concern radiating from his body, as if they were all pawns to be played around with in his game of chess, and every hiccup was like an ingenious move executed by the other side. It was more than likely that Diz hated to lose above all else; whoever was lost in the process was a necessary means to his overall victory.

"I'd better revise our calculations. I'm disappointed that we've lost the element of surprise, but, these instances occur. It's likely that we'll have to escalate our plans." Diz turned to leave, but Riku's incredulous look stopped him.

"Naminé's missing, I think that's more important than your little _calculations_."

"Naminé will return on her own accord."

"Oh yeah? What if she doesn't?"

"I see no reason why she wouldn't. She has nowhere else to go, and quite frankly, she has this silly little attachment to you."

"You didn't see her then, Diz! You don't understand. She looked, she looked..."

_Like she was at the point of no return._

Riku sighed. "We just, we need to find her."

Mickey nodded, laying a hand on Riku's leg in a small means of comfort.

"Alright then. You take the main town, I'll take the sewers, and Diz will take the outskirts. We'll meet back here in two hours. If we still haven't found her by then..."

He stopped, noting the worried look on Riku's face. Mickey forced a smile.

"Well, we'll talk about that if it happens."

* * *

As Twilight Town was scoured by the trio, ridiculous possibilities were imagined and impossible scenarios were enacted by Riku's panicked mind; all involving her either her capture or untimely demise. Most of the latter however involved stupidity on her part, which made him even more anxious. He went to all the places they had been together that day, every place he could think of, but she was nowhere to be found.

He wondered what was wrong, what would make her run off like that. Axel's words were confusing, but the only thing that mattered was bringing her home. He was past trying to make excuses to be with her; if this had been a week ago, the reason he would be wandering the streets all night to find her was so she could bring Sora back. But things were different now. Naminé had become more to him, a lot more than a means to an end. He cared for her. He really did. They had been through so much together. All this time he had been fighting alone, but since Naminé had come into his life, the burden of his solitude had been lifted. She made everything easier with just her presence, and there were very few people he could say that about.

The thought of her disappearing, leaving, was something he admittedly hadn't thought about. She had become a staple in his life, something he could almost take for granted like water, or air. But with her missing, he felt like a part of him had also been lost. If he couldn't find her, he didn't know what he would do. Just even imagining trying to face everything alone again was akin to drowning.

It was pure luck that Riku saw it. Whilst walking through one of the back-alleys for what seemed like the millionth time, his eyes caught a glimpse of another shadowy corner. On further inspection, he found it lead into a small alcove, almost like a little room in its own right. She was standing with her back to him, looking up at one of the posters for the upcoming struggle tournament.

"Naminé!" he said with relief. "You shouldn't run off like that, everyone is out looking-"

His voice died in his throat when she turned around. She was crying; tears were streaked across her face and her eyes were red and blotchy. She looked at him, to Riku it seemed like she was looking for an answer he couldn't give. If he could have had anything in the world at that moment, that's probably what he would have asked for.

"For God's sake, Riku," she pleaded. "Give me a minute."

Riku made his way over to one of the several boxes lying haphazardly around the room and sat down. He stared ahead, saying nothing, avoiding looking at her in her moment of vulnerability.

"The kids here call this place the usual spot," she said, somewhat randomly.

"It's a functional name," he replied. "It reminds me of the secret place back on my island."

"You went there to get away?"

"Not really, it was more Sora and Kairi's place to be honest."

"I like this place," she said. "I come here to try to think how life would be if I were normal."

"I think you're entitled to that."

* * *

"...and then, Sora and I locked the door and ran away. He was left there for eight hours before Wakka found him!"

"I can't believe you did that," she said, her eyes wide. "Poor Tidus."

"You wouldn't believe the trouble we got into," he replied, shaking his head. "But, in our defence, it was a bathroom, and we left food in the tub, so he was okay."

"Riku, this is a whole other side to you. I didn't think you could be so..."

"Cruel? A bully?"

"No, pure evil!"

They both laughed at each other.

"It's my childhood," he said. "I did a lot of stupid things."

"I want to hear them all," she replied.

"That'll probably take a while."

"I don't care, I love hearing these stories. Maybe I could draw-"

She stopped then, remembering what they had just experienced.

"Aren't you going to ask me what he meant?" she asked.

"No." he answered. Naminé was taken aback by the simplicity of his answer.

"No? What do you mean, 'No'?"

"Naminé, there was a reason you didn't tell me, so I don't need to know now."

_Why does it happen? I keep making the same mistakes, over and over? Why...?_

"I'm so stupid," she said.

"You're not stupid, Naminé."

"Then, why do I always go back? Why can't I go forward?"

"Don't worry," Riku said assuringly. "Sometimes that's just what you need to do, you know?" He looked up at the ceiling, his eyes soft as he remembered his own journey. "What's so wrong with looking back? The past has made us who we are."

"But-"

"Even if you make the same mistake, even if you do it twice, or three times, you'll learn from that too."

"But what if I don't?" she demanded. "What if, this is all I am?"

"It's not."

"But what if it is?" she repeated.

Riku grabbed her hand firmly. Her eyes looked at it briefly, before flicking up to see the intensity of Riku's determined expression. Naminé couldn't advert her gaze as their eyes locked together. They always seemed to drift between blue and green, but now, as she stared into them, they seemed to be a beautiful mixture of the two.

"Naminé, do you trust me?"

She looked at him for a minute more, then nodded, wordlessly.

"Then, I promise, there is more to you. This is just a moment of weakness. And it's okay to be sad. We can't be strong all the time you know."

"Riku..." she said, and hugged him tightly.

"H-hey," he laughed, patting her awkwardly on the back. "It's alright, you don't have to-"

Naminé gave him a lopsided grin and straightened herself up.

"You're right," she relented. "Come on then, let's go home."

* * *

"Naminé!" Mickey squeaked. "I'm so glad you're safe!" Naminé smiled and patted Mickey lightly on the head.

"I'm sorry I worried everyone," she said.

"I knew searching the outskirts was a waste of time," Diz muttered, before once again disappearing inside his lab.

"You were gone a long time, Riku," Mickey said. "Don't forget to check in next time!"

"This is where Diz would go "Don't let there be a next time"," he said, doing his best to imitate the deep, husky tone. Naminé laughed and shoved his shoulder playfully.

"Be nice," she warned.

"Yes, Mom," he replied, which earned him another shunt.

"Sorry to break up the party," Mickey said. "But we have to start talking about what we're going to do. Axel knows about our plans for Roxas, so we have to act soon."

"Alright," Riku said. "Just tell me what I need to do."

"Well, sorry to ask this of you, but you're going to have to fight him. He might feel some bond with you, considering he's Sora's nobody. That hesitation might be just what we need for us to capture him."

"I've beaten Sora hundreds of times, I don't think it'll be much of a problem."

"There's...just, one more thing," Mickey added. Riku looked at him, not liking the tone of his voice at all. Somehow he knew the next words out of the mouse's mouth would be bad ones.

"You'll have to fight Roxas, with this." Mickey produced a long, black blindfold. Riku looked incredulously from Naminé, who was doing her best to hide her amusement, to the piece of cloth, to Mickey, and back to Naminé. He shook his head and took an involuntary step backwards.

"You've got to be kidding me!"

_I know now, the past will always be the past.  
__There's nothing I can do to change that.  
__All I can do is move forward and embrace the future._

_..._

_But this time, I think I want to do it with him._

* * *

_**Author's Note**_

**I thought I was actually somewhere near being finished, but I realise I still have a long way to go. Right about now, I'd consider myself being somewhere near the sixty percent mark, which is, I must admit, daunting to say the least. This fanfic started out as being an experiment for me, but it's turning out to be a lot longer than I originally envisioned. It's becoming increasingly frustrating to continue, considering I've other projects I want to get started on, and college is starting again in a week. I feel I'm outgrowing it to a degree, but maybe that is another type of frustration as I don't like how I'm writing at the moment.**

**I don't say this as a way to panic anyone, though panic would be too strong a word to use in this case. But I need my loyal reviewers, you know who you are, to know the reason for the extended, and **_**extending **_**gaps between my chapters. I feel like it's unfair just stringing you along like this, especially considering how wonderful you've all been to me over the past year and some months. I will promise that I will finish this; after all Riku and Naminé have been through they deserve at least some sort of happiness, but it's just going to take time, a lot more time than I have presently. I hope this has given you some sort of understanding as to what's going on in my head, and I also hope that those who have stuck with me thus far will continue to wait for a small while longer. Thank you all for your infinite patience and kindness. I'm really grateful. And thanks, as always, for reading.**

**LastCetra.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

"You're not doing it right," Diz deadpanned.

"I've never had to fight blindfolded before!" Riku countered angrily.

"The King and I can both do it, so it is about time that you learned."

"I don't see you teaching Sora."

"You and I both know how weak that argument is, Riku, considering Sora's current condition. It would be more productive if you would concentrate on the task at hand."

Riku wrenched the blindfold off his eyes and flung it on the floor.

"It's impossible," he stated. "It's just impossible."

"If you keep acting this childish, then yes, it is."

"You're not helping," he said.

"You're not trying," Diz countered easily. "Not stop wasting my time and continue." His cold, lifeless eyes bore impassively into Riku's; eyes that had seen so much suffering that they had become detached completely to it. To be honest, that was the part of Diz that scared him beyond anything else in the world. He wasn't afraid of Diz. He was afraid of becoming him.

Riku sighed and bent down to scoop the blindfold up. His gaze moved across to the corner of the lab, where Naminé and Mickey were watching patiently. Naminé had a look of utmost sympathy on her face. Obviously she knew he had some… teething problems with this… _alternative _form of… 'training'. Riku gave her a painful sort of smile which she returned, adding a surreptitious thumbs-up as a means of cheering him on.

"What I don't understand," he said, tying the slim piece of cloth around his eyes once more. "is why I have to wear this thing in the first place."

"You see, Riku," said Mickey. Riku, now in total darkness, turned his head in the general direction of his friend. "Your eyes can't lie."

"What do you mean?" he asked bewilderedly.

"Your scent is grey," Diz explained. "Meaning, you don't have to be a nobody to have that scent. However, the chances of a living person living in grey is extraordinarily slim. You are, quite literally, one in a billion."

"If you go to face Roxas," said Naminé, "he won't immediately consider you a threat, because he'll think of you as one of his own kind. But your eyes, they're a different story. One look and he will know who you are, and he _will _bolt."

"As Naminé so eloquently put it," Diz said, "Roxas is a flight risk. You will have to get as close as you can before capturing him. However, do not be fooled into thinking that he is weak. Roxas is far more powerful than Sora, possibly because he has none of the inhibitions that Sora has. If you give yourself away and have to fight, it is quite likely that you will not have any time to remove the blindfold. If you choose to, it may cost you dearly. Therefore, that is why you have to learn. Are you thoroughly satisfied with our reasoning now?"

"Alright, alright already," he relented. "Enough with the lectures!" He rolled his eyes, but then realised how stupid that was as no one could see it. "What do I have to do?"

"We told you yesterday," Diz said. "Stop stalling."

"Well, this goes a little beyond basic combat skills," he argued. "A little more guidance would be helpful."

"Actually," Naminé interrupted. "I wasn't there yesterday, so I wouldn't mind hearing about how you do it."

Diz sighed. "You're such children," he droned. "Alright."

Riku raised his sword and fixed his stance. "Okay," he said. "I'm ready."

"Focus on the darkness," he instructed. "You need to let it create a blanket of black over your mind, take away all distractions. Your world has to be black for this to work."

"Black," he murmured. "Okay..."

"After your world has been established, you need to let it fall to the background. Think of it as the first coating on a canvas. Out of this, you will be looking for the bizarre. Light and darkness are inconsequential; they exist everywhere. You are looking for the grey. It will show up as a slightly lighter, more blurry colour than the darkness, but it will not be white. That, Riku, is your target."

"So, I'll be fighting a dark blur?"

"Is that not enough?"

"Oh!" Naminé interrupted again. Diz looked at her in annoyance. "I, uh, just forgot something. There's, something....I need to go, I forgot it in town you see. Well, good luck Riku!" With that she ran out of the lab. Riku twirled around wildly in his blindfolded world, wondering where she was positioned.

"Um...right, Nami-"

"Riku!" Diz barked. "Stop fooling around and concentrate!"

"Okay!"

***

Naminé was busying herself in the kitchen when Mickey entered. She looked up at him, then turned her attention back to the carrots she was chopping.

"If you're here for a snack then you're out of luck," she chirped. "Dinner will be ready in an hour and it'd only spoil your appetite!"

"I'm not here for a snack," Mickey said. Naminé gave him a quizzical look but continued with what she was doing.

"Okay, then," she replied. "It's always nice to have someone to talk to. How long have they been down there now?"

He shrugged. "About an hour, I suppose. I don't have a watch."

"Do you think he'll get it?"

"It's hard to say; he still doesn't have much faith in himself and his abilities."

Naminé smiled, though it seemed painful for her to do so.

"I've noticed that," she said, dropping the sliced carrots into a pan before taking up another one to chop. "Riku has got so much potential, but he thinks that his actions make no difference to the people around him. He just thinks that if he tries to do good, he'll fail miserably. He's always so close to giving up."

"But he doesn't give up. He never will."

"I know. That's what I like about him." Mickey took a look at her face. He smile had turned from painful to happy, almost as if she was proud of Riku.

Mickey walked up beside her and took some potatoes out of a bag to wash. Naminé passed him a basin of water and a scouring brush which he took silently. They both worked diligently without comment for a few seconds before Mickey asked his next question.

"You two have gotten close," he said. "What exactly is your relationship with Riku?"

The question took Naminé by surprise. Blushing furiously, she kept her gaze firmly fixed on her carrots.

"I, uh, we're just friends!"

"You are much more than friends, Naminé," Mickey said. "Anybody could see that."

"Well," she said, her tone indignant. "We're not together, if that's what you mean."

"Is it because you haven't told him yet?"

The knife fell to the floor with a clang, but was left to lie there, unnoticed and dejected. Naminé stood, her hand trembling, eyes locked with Mickey's.

"What are you talking about?" she asked with a half-laugh, though both she and Mickey knew exactly what he meant.

"I'm talking about what you are, Naminé." The mouse was not one for playing games.

Naminé folded her arms and walked to the other side of the room. Not happy with her stance, she put her hands on her hips, then raked them through her hair before finally folding them again, not knowing what else to do with them.

"A nobody..." she murmured.

"When do you plan on telling him?"

"Never," Naminé said bluntly. "It's not his business, just like it's none of yours either!"

"Naminé," he said, closing the distance between them, "He has a right to know. It's not fair you keeping it a secret from him."

"I know that, but I, I can't....not yet..."

Mickey waited for her to say something more, but when she didn't, he spoke again.

"You know, he's going to find out sooner or later."

"I know, I know.." she replied. "I just..."

"Think of it this way; at least if you tell him, it'll be on your own terms, and nobody else's. Then, he can't blame you for not telling him, and it will be up to Riku to accept you for who you are. And who knows? It might bring you even closer."

_Or it could be just the thing that would tear us apart._

"Hey, what are you two talking about?"

Naminé, startled, looked up to see a battered, sweaty Riku smiling at her, though his smile faltered when he saw the look on her face.

"R-Riku," she stammered. "When did you finish?"

"Just now. Hey, are you alright?"

Naminé plastered a smile onto her face. "I'm fine!" she assured. "Mickey and I were just making dinner."

"Anything nice?" he asked, leaning over the table to peak inside the pot.

"So," she said, walking towards him. "Did you get it yet?"

"Get what?" he asked, then realised she was talking about the training. "No, not yet. Diz said a was a dirty ignorant brat who should stop wasting his time and become useful for a change. So, I said we should call it a day and he agreed." Riku laughed at the look of horror on Naminé and Mickey's faces. "It's alright though. I just need to work on it some more, but I promise, I'll get the hang of it. Soon, I'll be able to pick out a nobody from a mile away!"

"I, um, have to go," Naminé said quickly. "Mickey, could you finish off dinner for me? I'm going to go for a walk."

"Do you want some company?" Riku asked, watching her in confusion as she rushed toward the door.

"Oh, no, that's alright, Riku, I'll see you at dinner."

"Think about what I said," Mickey shouted after her as she disappeared outside. Riku turned to his mouse friend.

"Your Majesty, is she mad at me?"

"I told you, you don't have to call me that. We're friends, Riku!"

"Okay, Mickey, is she mad at me?"

"No, why do you think that?"

"Well, this is the second time today that she's run out on me so suddenly."

"I'm sure you're just making a mountain out of a molehill," Mickey replied.

"I don't know," he said. "Her behaviour, the way she won't look me in the eye... it's like she's ashamed of something."

"It's just your imagination; she said she would see you at dinner didn't she?"

"Yeah," Riku relented. "Maybe I'm just hanging around her too much. I'd say she just needs her space or something. Well, I'd better have a shower, I smell awful! Diz sure knows how to keep a person going!" He walked to the door, but then thought of something and turned back to Mickey.

"Um, before I came in, what were you two talking about?"

"Oh that?" he replied. "Just about what we were cooking, and how Minnie used to cook me the nicest roast potatoes in the universe! It was nothing major."

Riku nodded, and walked upstairs to his room. Mickey threw the last of the potatoes into a pan and set the water to boil.

"Don't worry," he mumbled to himself. "You're going to find out soon enough."

_**Author's Notes:**_

_**Bloody hell, it's been six months! I wouldn't say I'm back, and back with a vengeance, but things are starting to get a little easier for me, and I'm less stressed, and I have more time to work on different things. I have the epilogue for this fic written, though that's still a while away yet, and other bits and pieces here and there for later chapters. So, once the next...two or three chapters are out of the way, updates should be quick and... relatively painless, ha ha. Famous last words, eh?**_

_**I'd like to thank everyone for waiting so patiently, and my reviewers for their kind words, especially you, Twily-Kuno, and xMemoirx for being so supportive and sweet. There definitely won't be a sixth month gap for the coming chapters, I can promise that much. **_

_**Also, I'm two years on this fic, how amazing is that?? There is still a good bit left to go, but it's getting there, and I'm getting there, so hang with me for a little while more! It's also odd that I seem to update on a Tuesday, and I don't know why it falls like that!**_

_**Anyway, I'm still alive and very much kicking, so expect to see some more work from me soon! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Thanks everyone again, and thanks for reading.**_

_**Love from LastCetra.**_


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

"Hey, Nami, it's time to wake up."

Sleepy blue eyes opened to see Riku sitting on the side of the bed. Seeing her finally stir, he stopped gently shaking her shoulder. Naminé, not knowing what to do or where to move, remained lying down.

"Hey, Riku," she said with a yawn.

"Do you want to go into town with me?" he asked.

"I thought you had training today," she said slowly, still getting her bearings after just waking up.

"Well, yeah, but Diz is going doing secret "Dizzy" things, so he won't be back until this evening. We'll be doing a crash course training session then."

"Oh," she replied, not knowing what else to say.

"I thought you were a morning person," Riku said jokingly.

Naminé sat up and rubbed her eyes. "I guess..." she mumbled.

"Are you sure you're alright?" he asked.

"Um, yeah," she replied. "Why?"

"It's nothing," he said, though he looked slightly disappointed by her answer. "We just haven't been able to hang out as much since I've been training and well, I miss our chats." Naminé looked at him properly, and though she couldn't read exactly what was going on behind his eyes, she knew he was telling the truth.

"Okay," she said. "Just give me a minute to get dressed, and then we'll go out."

* * *

It had been a while since they had gone into the town, and there seemed to be an exciting atmosphere around the place. More people littered the streets, and there was frenzied chatter amongst the Twilight Town youths.

"What's happening?" Riku asked, turning to his side deftly to avoid being shouldered by a group of kids.

"I'm not too sure," Naminé said, but her own questions were answered when she saw a poster crudely taped to a lamppost. "Here we go," she said, plucking it off the metal to read it properly.

"Skateboard competition today," Riku read aloud. "Prize: 2000 Munny."

"Look," she said, pointing to the bottom. "Entrants have to be aged between thirteen and seventeen." Naminé gave Riku a look, to which he knew what she meant. Whenever she was about to ask him something outrageous, she always had an evil glint in her eye that made him regret going anywhere with her. In saying that however, when he saw her like that, it made him insanely happy. Her sense of adventure was one of the things he loved about her.

"I'm not entering," he said bluntly.

"Go on," she prodded. "It'll be fun!"

"No!" he exclaimed.

"Yes!" she exclaimed right back. "You know how to do it, don't you?"

"No," he lied. "I don't."

"You're lying," she said immediately.

"I'm not!"

"You are!"

"Naminé-"

"I'll buy you something if you enter."

"Like what?" he said flatly. "You have no munny."

"Well, if you win, you'll have plenty of munny. I'll buy you something out of that."

"Naminé, I haven't skated in about two years."

"It's like riding a bike, you'll pick it up again in no time!"

"I'm not doing it!"

"You are!"

"I'll tell you this; there is no way you are going to make me enter this competition, and that's that!"

* * *

"Hi, can I help you?" The ticket vendor looked at Naminé and Riku with a warm smile. She was sitting behind a small table in the corner of the Sandlot. A small, piece of paper that had the word "Registration" scrawled across it was taped across the front.

"Hi," Naminé said. "This is my friend, and he wants to enter."

"Oh, really?" she said, looking at Riku expectantly. Naminé nudged him politely, but hard enough to warn him that if he backed out now, he was going to know what hell was.

"Yeah, I want to enter," he said, his voice a dull monotone.

"That's brilliant! Usually, entrants aren't allowed enter on the day, but unfortunately we only have about ten contestants this year, so we'll be taking anyone we can up to the last minute. You must be lucky."

"Hear that, Riku?" she asked, a beaming smile on her face. "Aren't we so lucky?"

"Oh yeah," he replied with feigned enthusiasm. "We're dead lucky."

"Okay then!" the vendor said. "My name is Michelle, and I'll be the adjudicator today, along with two others from the Twilight Town Council who have yet to arrive. What's your name?"

"Riku."

"Well, Riku, all you need to do is-"

Michelle's speech was interrupted by a small stampede of three teenagers who rushed across the Sandlot up to the booth.

"Aren't they-" Riku asked.

"Yeah, the people we helped before," Naminé finished.

"Hey, Michelle, is registration still open?" Olette said in a rush of words, spoken at a frightening speed. Riku didn't think the human mouth was capable of speaking that fast.

"Oh, hi guys," she said with a smile. "I was worried you weren't going to turn up this year. It wouldn't be a skateboarding contest without you!"

"We only just remembered it today," Hayner said, giving Pence a high five as they realised they were in luck. "It's a day we never usually miss."

"Are Seifer, Fuu, Rai and Vivi entering?" Pence asked.

"Vivi couldn't make it this year. He has a cold, the poor thing, but the rest will be there."

"Damn it," Hayner cursed. "I was kind of hoping Fuu wouldn't make it."

"Cause you hate getting your ass kicked by a girl?" Olette teased, earning a scowl from Hayner. Naminé smiled to herself. Apparently she had hit a nerve.

"And we have a new contestant this year," Michelle said, gesturing behind them.

Slowly, the trio turned to see Naminé and Riku standing quietly, sharing the same bewildered look. Olette, recognising them instantly, grinned.

"Hey, it's the two that helped us before!" she said happily. "Thanks again for that! Which one of you is entering?"

Naminé pointed her thumb towards her friend in a small, surreptitious gesture. Riku wanted the ground to swallow him more than anything at that point.

"Well, why don't you go with Pence and Hayner?" Olette offered. "They've entered plenty of times and they know exactly what to do, so you'll be in good hands! To be honest, I'm awful at the sport, so I'll take your lovely lady friend and we'll watch from the sidelines!"

"I, uh, don't want to impos-"

"Don't worry about it!" Hayner interrupted. "Hell, man, it's the least I could do after all your help!"

"I-" he said, still unsure.

"Go on," Naminé replied, pushing him towards the boys. "It wouldn't kill you to make some friends while you're here." She turned to Olette.

"I'm Naminé, and that's Riku."

"Nice to meet you properly," she chirped. "I'm Olette, and those two are Pence and Hayner." Naminé shook Olette's hand and waved at the other two.

"Hi," Riku said sheepishly, shaking Hayner and Pence's hands respectively. "Naminé-"

"Not now, Riku," she argued. "You have a contest to prepare for!" Naminé took Olette's hand and the two of them ran off, giggling.

"Don't bother with those two," Pence said, giving Riku a hearty slap on the back. Riku wheezed and flew forward, totally unprepared for such a violent, but nonetheless friendly gesture.

Hayner looked down at Riku with a smile, but then his brow crinkled questioningly.

"Hey, dude," he said. "Where the hell is your skateboard?"

Riku looked in turn at his empty hands. All he could do was laugh and shrug helplessly.

"No worries," Pence said. "We'll give you Olette's. All she does is use it to keep up with us; it's in pretty good condition."

"Thanks," Riku replied gratefully.

"Um, why did you enter anyway? Is it for the prize munny?"

A faint tinge of red graced Riku's cheeks. "I, uh....did it cause Naminé made me."

Pence and Hayner started laughing hysterically. Riku, folded his arms defensively.

"Whipped!!" they chimed together.

* * *

"So, how come I've never see you guys around town?" Olette asked. Since both girls had started talking, they had just clicked; becoming instant friends.

"Well," Naminé replied. "We live on the outskirts, so we only come in about once a week for shopping.

"Whereabouts?" she questioned, her curiosity piqued.

"Um, near enough to the mansion," Naminé answered, somewhat enigmatically.

"Ugh," Olette said with a shiver. "That place gives me the creeps! How do you live near there? Do you even know any of the stories about that-" Realising what she was saying, she stopped. "Um, I probably shouldn't say. I don't want to scare you away, you know?"

"I like it," Naminé said. "It's very silent. I can almost hear the memories of the people that used to live there. When I see it, I think of all the people that raised their kids, or the weddings that might have taken place. It makes me really happy to think that people found love in those walls."

Olette gave her a look. "When you hear the stories _I _heard, you're not going to like it anymore!"

"Well, you're not going to tell me, so I'll look at it my way for a little while longer."

"I like you, Naminé. You look at life a lot more differently than other people."

"Thanks. I guess I've a lot to be happy about."

A comfortable silence stretched between them while they crossed the Sandlot. The contest wasn't due to start for another hour, so they were early enough to grab some seats right at the front. The main square had been transformed into a gigantic skate park, complete with quarter pipes, grinding rails, fun boxes, and every other skater's dream when it came to performing tricks.

"So," Olette asked. "Are you and Riku related or what?"

"What?" she exclaimed. "No!"

"Are you...?" she pressed, a knowing glint in her eye.

"No, we're not that either," she replied, curling a lock of hair behind her face. She did, however have a smile that suggested otherwise; one that Olette could pick up on instantly.

"Do you want to be?"

Naminé laughed shortly. "I guess you could say it's complicated."

"Every relationship is complicated," Olette said with a shrug. "All you have to do is wade through the crap to get to the good bit. A good relationship has to have its share of baggage."

"It sounds like you're speaking from experience," Naminé noted.

"Is it that obvious?" Olette said with a laugh.

"So, you and..."

"Yup." She gave Naminé a friendly wink.

"And...?"

"It was awkward at first, but he learned to live with it. I'm glad that we can all still hang out together."

"But, how did you get past that?"

"I'm not going to lie, Naminé. It was tough. We really hard to work on it. But in the end, we realised it would be better us staying friends than us not being in each others' lives anymore. But you know what? I'm really glad I told him rather than him hearing it from someone else like Fuu."

One question kept surfacing in her mind, but she was afraid to ask it. Naminé bit down on the end of her lip nervously.

"I think I know what you want to say," Olette said. "And it's alright."

"Do you love him?" she asked.

Olette looked up at the sky with a genuinely happy smile. It looked like she was someplace very far away, but it was a place with infinite happiness.

"I think I do," she replied. "But, you know, I could just be smitten!"

They laughed; the beautiful sound only adding to the friendly chatter that was growing louder in the rapidly crowding area. The skateboard competition was only minutes away, and the excitement was almost palpable.

"So..." Olette asked. "What exactly is so complicated between you two anyway?"

"He....he thinks I'm something I'm not," Naminé answered. "I'm sorry, I'm not sure how best to put that..."

"Ah, don't worry. Did you lie to his face, or was it something you just decided not to tell him yet?"

"The second one," she said miserably.

"Well, is it that bad?"

"No, not really. I'm just-"

"Afraid of what he'll think of you," Olette finished.

Naminé sighed. "Exactly."

Their conversation was cut short as a member of the Twilight Town council walked into the middle of the skate park. A joyous cheer erupted from the crowd, and the man raised his hands to quiet the audience so he could speak and be heard.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I give to you, our FOUTH ANNUAL SKATING COMPETITION!!"

The crowd went mad, and Naminé and Olette exchanged an exasperated glance before shrugging and joining in. The man continued with his speech until he called the first contestant which was a person neither Olette or Naminé knew.

"I had a peek at the line up," Olette whispered. "Riku is third, Hayner is sixth and Pence is seventh. Should be a bit of fun to see how your boy does!"

"He hasn't skated in over two years," Naminé whispered back.

Olette snorted so loudly that the contestant became startled at the noise and tripped at the top of the fun box, earning a big "Oooooooooooohhhh!" from the spectators.

"No way!" she half-whispered, half-giggled. Naminé only replied with a nod and a grin as wide as the Sandlot square.

The second contestant was Seifer, as Olette pointed out to Naminé several times. His skateboarding was basic and not very skilled, but he had one or two impressive tricks up his sleeve. He left the park with moderate applause.

It was then that Riku came out. Naminé and Olette both jumped to their feet and cheered loudly.

"That's my skateboard!" Olette proclaimed proudly, adding a wolf whistle to further deepen Riku's embarrassment.

"Do your best!" Naminé called. Riku saw her and smiled, nodding. Then he began.

For a person who had not skated in over two years, Naminé had to admit that he wasn't bad. Not amazing, but he was alright. She knew he wouldn't win, but she also knew that he had at least tried. She made sure to cheer extra loudly as he finished and walked off.

Fuu was fourth. Naminé didn't think skateboarding could be so spectacular until she saw that woman move. Her tricks were unreal, her speed was off the charts and her flow, balance and poise were simply perfection. She finished to a standing ovation, followed by roars for an encore by the crowd.

"No one's going to top that," Olette said. "Looks like Fuu will have three in a row this year."

She was right. No one could possibly outmatch Fuu's skill. Even though Hayner and Pence's performances were of high quality, they couldn't hold a candle to what came before them.

The last contestant finished in the late afternoon. Riku came bounding up to Naminé and Olette.

"Hey, Riku!" Naminé greeted cheerily. "You were great!"

"Thanks," he replied. He handed Olette her board. "Thanks for letting me borrow it."

"Hey, anytime pal!"

"Nami," he said, taking her aside. "I've got to go. I have training with Diz in a half an hour."

"Oh, okay," she replied, slightly disappointed. "You won't get to see the results."

"I don't mind. You know, I actually had fun today. Hayner and Pence are really cool guys." He pulled Naminé into a quick hug. "Thanks for pushing me into doing it. I like when you get me to do crazy things like this."

"Oh, hey, no problem," she replied.

"I'll see you at home?"

"Y-yeah."

"Right, gotta dash, Nami, I don't want him to blow a gasket for me being late!" He waved quickly to Olette before running off.

"Hey," Olette said, walking up to stand beside Naminé as she watched him go. "You know what I love most about my man?"

"What's that?" she asked.

"He doesn't love everything about me. And to be honest, I wouldn't want him to, not when there are parts to me that I don't like myself." She put her hand around Naminé's shoulders.

"Maybe he won't hate you. He might not like that aspect of you, but he likes everything else that you've let him get to know. Why trade in all those good things because of one bad thing?"

"I love him, you know," Naminé said. "I think, I've loved him for a while now."

"It's a great feeling, don't you think?" she asked.

Naminé nodded silently.

"Well," Olette said. "I think you have your answer."

She paused, letting the realisation flow through her. Olette was right, she knew her answer, and she had known it ever since they had been walking together on that road to Twilight Town.

"I'm glad we met each other, Olette."

"So am I," she replied. They gave each other a big hug.

"I need to go," Naminé said.

"You're not going to stay for a while?"

She shook her head. "No, I need to tell him before I chicken out. I don't want to find a reason to keep it a secret any longer."

"Alright Naminé," Olette conceded. "Good luck, okay?"

"Thanks, Olette, I'll see you soon!"

* * *

"Get up."

Riku was sprawled on the floor. Taking deep breaths, he dragged himself to his hands and knees. He shook his head. There was no way; it was impossible. Riku thought he was a good fighter; his senses were fantastic and he could hear the pitter-patter of a mouse's feet if he was in a room, but Diz moved silently, and when he spoke, his voice was everywhere but nowhere at the same time. There was absolutely no way to detect him, not unless he took the blindfold off.

"I told you to get up," Diz said, landing another blow to Riku, who rocketed to the floor.

"I can't," Riku breathed, clutching his torso, nursing his newest bruise. "I need my eyes."

"No, you don't. Now get up or I'll make you get up."

Shakily, he stood on his feet. His head swam, but that was nothing new. Over the last few days, Diz had made that happen quite often.

"Now, I want you to call your sword."

"What?" he asked, thoroughly surprised. Until now, they had only been using their fists to fight.

"If you're not willing to learn, I believe it's time we added some danger to give you incentive." Riku heard Diz draw a sword with those words. It sounded slim, like a sabre.

"If you can't learn to see me, then you're going to die."

"WHAT!? You're insane!"

"But the difference is, I can fight blind. And you're wasting your time."

Riku heard the tell-tale whistle of a sword slicing through the air. Panicked, he threw himself out of the way. He reached for his blindfold.

"You won't have time to do that," Diz said. Suddenly, Riku felt the sword pierce the arm that was trying to remove the cloth from his eyes. He let out a strangled cry, completely taken aback by how serious the situation had become.

Riku did his best to do what he had been told and called his Soul Reaper fourth. So far, he could picture the mass of black surrounding his vision, but he failed in letting it fall to the background. Everything, to him, was darkness.

Hearing another stroke of the sword, he stepped back wildly and tried to block using his own weapon. There was a clumsy clang as the two connected.

"Find me, Riku. I'm right here. You can see, you just choose not to."

Riku concentrated, and concentrated harder than he had ever done in his life. It just wasn't coming, and Diz was on the warpath. He wished he was back at the skateboarding tournament, back with Naminé. Things were so much easier when all he saw was her smiling face, it was like nothing really else mattered....

With that, his mind emptied, and Riku was plunged into a dark world. The ground was black, but it was solid. He could see the regular white lights of the machines, something he hadn't seen before. They were so bright they were almost blinding. It seemed to be the only thing that was white though; everything inanimate took a blurry, black form. The world was eerily quiet, but somehow, he knew where everything was and what it looked like.

And there, right in front of him, was a small, grey, blurry shape. It wasn't much to go on, but at least he had a target now. With a grin he ran towards it, Soul Reaper ready.

"I can see you now!" he yelled, his sword flying down. This was the get him back for all the snide comebacks, all the times he had put him down during training, all the times he had made him feel like he didn't matter.

"RIKU!" Diz bellowed.

He was brought back into his blinded world, stunned and confused. His sword smashed against Diz's sabre with such force it made his bones quiver. Diz ripped the cloth from his eyes. Riku looked up to see Naminé, petrified, drop to her knees.

"W-why are you grey?" he asked, but he already knew the answer.

**Author's Notes**

**Whoa. Long chapter. To be honest, I would have liked to separate some of this out, but, I think it works well enough as a whole. And may I say, less than two weeks and I'm updating already! I RAWK! No, in all seriousness, I've had a huge burst of creative energy in the last week. In fact, I think I've written more in the last three weeks than I've written in the last year, and that's saying a lot. So, well, we'll run with it while we have it I guess!**

**I do know I never specifically mentioned which boy Olette was going out with, and yes, that intentional. This is a story about the growing relationship between Naminé and Riku, and well, I don't want to detract from that. So, you can have your guesses, and I have my assumptions, but I'm not going to say....haha!**

**Reviews are appreciated as always, and thank you all so, SO much for reading!! I hope you enjoyed this latest instalment of Riku x Naminé drama!!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

It was the fateful night. Riku had gone to fight Roxas. Not that she had heard it from him; Diz had mentioned it in passing when she enquired as to his whereabouts at dinner. A week had passed since he had found out, and the memory of the day cut into her like sharp glass shards whenever she thought of it.

* * *

_Slowly bringing his sword down to his side, he loosened his grip and it faded away into billions of little particles. Anger flared in his eyes at his new discovery. Naminé had never seen him look so hurt, so betrayed...so livid. It was the first time she had ever felt genuinely scared of him. Shakily, she brought herself to her feet._

_"Riku," she pleaded. "I was coming to tell-"_

_"Get out," he said lowly. Naminé took an involuntary step backwards._

_"No, please, let me explain-"_

_"I don't want to hear it." His tone was laced with a fury only kept in check by pure self control. "Get out of my sight, and get out of it now."_

_Naminé lingered a little longer, but there was a look on his face that told her he wouldn't be responsible for his actions if she stayed._

_"Alright," she whispered, close to tears. She turned and ran out of the lab._

* * *

The week had been a strange one. Naminé knew she was not going to be Riku's favourite person, but it was like he had cut all contact with her. Every time she entered a room, he would leave. If she went down to watch him train, Riku would straighten up and stop, waiting until she left. He ate at different times, he wouldn't even look at her.

Was this what it was like to be hated?

Still, even though she didn't know he had gone to fight Roxas till tonight, she couldn't help but worry. It had past four in the morning, and he wasn't back yet. Naminé knew she wouldn't get any sleep until he returned home safely. She had tried to draw, tried to read, but concentration was impossible, so she took to pacing. Looking at her watch, she had been doing that for almost two hours now. What was taking him so long? Apparently Diz had given him a black cloak to fit in with the other Organisation members. To be honest, she would have liked to have seen him in that...

Worries raced through her head. What if Roxas knew about him? What if it was a trap, and there were other people waiting for him? Riku had just learned to fight blind. He wasn't ready to take on the likes of Axel and Xaldin with that kind of a handicap. Fear froze her heart. What if Saix knew? He could rip Riku to shreds, and knowing Saix, he probably would if he had the chance.

What if he never came back?

This was probably one of the most dangerous situations he had ever been faced with, and the last time he had fought a nobody...well, she knew how that had ended. Roxas could be lethal when he wanted to be; he was best friends with Axel for heaven's sake! There was the very real possibility that he wouldn't return this time. Naminé didn't want him to die, especially not alone. He had suffered through so much for so long, and even if he did hate her, she wanted nothing more than to be there for him, be with him when he fought.

But of course, he hadn't wanted that. It was why he left without telling her. Riku simply did not want her infecting his life anymore. To be honest, she couldn't blame him for his decision. Everything she ever cared about, anything she ever touched was doomed to find destruction. Her family, her town, Sora, and now Riku. They all would have been better off had she never existed. Perhaps this was the price of her existence, the world's way of telling her to get out now, because she was an anomaly that needed to be erased.

Was it selfish to want to be a part of this world? Was it selfish to think that, for once, she could be normal, and lead a normal life? She was a nobody, she knew that much, but even though she shouldn't have these...feelings, they nonetheless stirred inside her. Needs, desires....they kept bubbling to the surface, demanding to be realised, refusing to go away and leave her alone. Naminé wanted friends, she wanted a job, a future, a life, all the aspects of normality that were constantly torn away from her. She didn't want to make a huge difference in the world. She was only one person. No, her goals were simple. She wanted to be loved, and she wanted to belong. Nothing more.

Stupidly, she thought that yearning had been satisfied. Every day she had spent with Riku had brought her closer to being human than she could have possibly dreamt. Riku _was_ her heart. He was the part that had been missing from her life that she hadn't realised she had lost until they had shared their time together.

A wave of tiredness washed over her, and she sat down on the bed. She couldn't sleep, not with him still out there, but her mind begged to differ; ordering her to rest. Her eyes drooped, and she lay down. She would only sleep for a few minutes, and then she'd be up again to wait for him. Giving in to her sleep-deprived body, she let darkness take over.

* * *

Naminé heard a thump against the door. Waking quickly from her light slumber, she rubbed her eyes and looked at the clock at the side of the bed. It was just past six in the morning. Forcing the remnants of tiredness from her body she hurriedly rushed to the door and opened it. Riku fell inside and crumpled onto the floor. His black cloak was nowhere to be seen; probably ripped to shreds during their fight. The tears on his blood-stained clothes were also indicative of that theory.

"Oh crap," she said, trying to straighten his limp body into a more comfortable position. "Riku, what happened?"

"Sora," he murmured quietly. "Similar...much...couldn't..." The words came out in a jumble, but one sentence was made unmistakeably clear.

"I...lost, Naminé." His eyes closed. Naminé shook him till they opened again.

"I'm tired," he said. Naminé couldn't help it; she smiled.

"Let's get you to bed so, sleepyhead." She placed his hand over her shoulders. "I can't lift you by myself, so you have to work with me, okay?"

Riku nodded. Forcing gravity, he pushed his battered body to an upward position. He grimaced; his face was a picture of agony, but he made no sound. Naminé knew it was because of her. Something she always hated was the fact that he was too damn proud for his own good. She knew it had taken a lot of courage on his part to even go to her room. He was hurt, and he was well aware of the fact that she had the strongest healing powers in the house. Otherwise, it would have been Mickey's door he would have been knocking on, or in this case, falling in on. The thought made her so sad. After this, she would have outworn her use again, and they'd go back to the usual routine of him ignoring her and her pretending not to mind.

In saying that, this was the closest they had been all week, the longest he had stayed in the same room as her, and the most he had talked to her. While he was offering his presence to her, she would take it. Even if she was being used, it didn't matter.

"That's it, Riku," Naminé encouraged. "You're doing great."

The four steps it took to reach the bed were probably the hardest either of them ever had to walk. Naminé could only imagine the pain he was going through. He was doing his best not to worry her, but she knew he needed help. Every step he took elicited a small hiss from his throat, which she knew if she weren't there would have been screams. In the end, she was happy to see him collapse on the bed, so he wouldn't have to move anymore. Naminé reached down and started to unlace his shoes.

"Can't you...just draw me better?" he asked, but already knowing the negative answer he was about to receive.

"You're not dying. I wouldn't be desperate enough for it to work."

"I'll be dying tomorrow," he argued feebly.

"Well," she said, taking his second shoe off. "You'll just have to get over it, won't you?"

Riku tried to laugh, but it came out as a spluttered cough. Naminé reached over the bed to look at him, concern evident on her face.

"Are you alright?" she asked. "Really?"

"I'm so pathetic," he whispered, placing his hand over his eyes if that would in some small way conceal his emotion. "I can never make things right."

"You will, Riku," she assured. "It just takes time."

"Why can't I be stronger? I have to, I can't let Sora-"

"You're not going to let anyone down. You'll find a way. We'll find a way, alright? Sora's going to be fine."

Riku took his hand away and let it fall to the side. There was a look on his face that told her he didn't believe her, but he said nothing. Instead, he turned his head towards the wall, his eyes empty.

Naminé hesitated after she pulled off his socks. She knew what she had to do next, but she couldn't bring herself to say it to him; it was just too embarrassing.

"Riku?" she asked, laying her hand softly on his bicep.

"Yeah?" he replied, but his eyes remained fixed on the wall.

"I...." she took a deep breath and counted to three. It had to be said, so she was just going to say it. "I need to take off your shirt."

"Fine." It was said without so much as a blink.

"Oh, okay." Naminé quickly fumbled with the buttons on his shirt, doing her best to get them open as fast as she could. She let out an involuntary gasp at the sight of his skin. He knew it was going to be bad, but not _that_ bad. There were cuts criss-crossed all the way down his torso, and he was a mess of dried blood and open wounds. She clasped her hands together and focused on a cure spell. Though it wasn't powerful, the green light diffused into the major wounds to make them less severe. It was going to be a few days before he would be up and about properly again.

"I'll be back in a minute," she said. Naminé ran downstairs and filled a basin with lukewarm water. Finding a cloth, she threw it into the liquid before making her way carefully back to her room. She didn't understand why he had come to her. After all, she thought he hated her now that he knew what she was. He had barely said two words to her in the last few days. It was like he had forgotten how to interact with her, forgotten how to be himself when she was around. This was the first time since he had found out that they had been in the same room for over three minutes together.

Naminé placed the basin on the floor next to bed and knelt beside it. Wringing the cloth of the excess water, she moved it to Riku's body where she started to wipe off the blood. His first reaction was a deep hiss, followed by a sharp arching of his back. Naminé put her hand on his forehead and coaxed him back down.

"This won't take long, I promise." She knew it was going to be painful, but what could she do? If she left the blood there then the wounds ran the risk of getting infected, and that was the last thing either of them wanted. If it did, Naminé would be sure that he would be making another appearance in her sketchpad. Riku tensed his body at the thought of it, but, resigned to his fate, he nodded. With that she continued.

Despite her words, it was a long process. The agony Riku was going through was a lot more than she could handle. Every wipe from the cloth introduced her to new sounds of unimaginable pain and distress, and she knew she was the cause of it. If only she hadn't joined with Organisation XIII, if only she hadn't tampered with Sora's memories....

If only she could fix all the things she had ever done wrong.

Looking at Riku, a sad smile shadowed her face. How could she ever feel bad for what she had done? Even though everything had fallen to pieces around her, it was through every silly mistake she had met him. It was selfish, but her mistakes almost seemed worth it for the time she had spent with him.

Brushing the stray wisps of hair from her tired eyes, she finished clearing the blood from his torso. Though it did not look as bad as it had before, Riku was still in terrible shape. Gathering the basin and the cloth, she moved it back downstairs to the kitchen. She suddenly felt an uncontrollable urge to cry as she watched the crimson water flow down the sink. He was so brave, and he always kept going, no matter what the consequences. How was Sora so important that he allowed himself to be put through this kind of danger, this kind of _torture_, day after day? Did he ever doubt? Was he ever.....was he ever like her?

"Naminé? What are you doing up?"

Surprised to hear a voice at such a late hour, Naminé jumped. She turned quickly to see Mickey standing there.

"Can't sleep?" he asked. He gave her understanding smile. "It's not easy waiting for Riku to come back, is it?"

"He's back," she replied. "And he's hurt."

Mickey's gaze turned to the red stains in the sink. Taking a deep breath, he nodded.

"Roxas?"

Naminé shook her head sombrely.

"Right," he sighed. "Where is he?"

"My room. Do we have bandages?"

"In the cupboard on your right."

Mickey disappeared upstairs while Naminé rummaged around until she found the first aid kit. Not bothering to rifle through that and make a further mess to the kitchen she just dragged the whole thing to her room. Mickey and Riku were talking in low voices. Naminé couldn't hear a word of it but they stopped once they saw her in the doorway.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, curious as to why they wouldn't have continued.

"Just about Roxas," Mickey said quietly. Naminé knew instantly that it was a lie. She wanted nothing more at that moment than to argue it. She was sick of being kept in the dark like a fragile little doll.

"I brought the first aid kit," she said instead.

"Good, good," Mickey said, a little too enthusiastically. "Well, Riku, we can talk properly some other time. Right now, you need to be patched up! If Naminé dresses wounds as well as she cooks, then you're going to be flying around the place in no time!" He gave Riku an encouraging pat on the head and ruffled his hair before leaving the room.

"I need you to sit up for me," she said, extending her hand to him. Reluctantly, he grabbed it and eased himself into a sitting position. Putting one hand on his back to steady him, Naminé plucked some bandages and tape from the first aid kit with the other.

"Hold this," she ordered, guiding his hand to the bandage covering a shallow gash near his ribs. Riku complied, and Naminé fixed the tape around it, holding it in place. They worked in silence together for a long while, Riku doing his best to help her while Naminé secured the dressings and kept him upright. When she was done, she guided his shoulders gently down onto the bed.

"I'll be back to check on you tomorrow," she said. "Try to get some sleep, okay?"

"Naminé," he said quietly. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," she replied, her face softening. She turned to go, but Riku clasped her wrist tightly, keeping her anchored firmly in place.

"Listen, I want to be....I'm just not there yet."

"I know," she said, though she really wished they were in that place again. The place where the jokes ran freely, the talks were light and fun and the walks were long. It had only been a few days, but already it seemed to be so long ago now.

"Take all the time you need, okay? I'll be here."

Riku's hand loosened his grip, and nodding, he closed his eyes. Naminé pulled the covers up to his chest, then left to sleep in the other room.

* * *

_**Author's Notes:**_

_**Well, Happy Easter everyone! As I can't give all you nice people chocolate eggs (let's face it; I'm no Easter bunny) I thought I'd do my best to get another chapter written, edited and up! And woo, it's happened!! As much as I'd like to keep the updates coming this fast, I'm starting to run out of steam, so don't get into the nice comfort zone of this rapid updating!**_

_**Well, apologies for the cliff-hanger in the last chapter! I kinda didn't realise it till everyone gave out to me, lol. It seemed like a good way to end the chapter and because I know what happens next it never even occurred to me!! But oh yeah, I can be EVIL sometimes too! Mwahahahaha and all that! ^^**_

_**I want to send a big, BIG thank you to my friend, Pan, on this site known as Salaronne, for his help with this chapter. Being the merciless critic that he is, he made this chapter a way, WAY better than what it was, so merci beaucoup you lovable maniac!**_

_**Gawd, the reviews for the last chapter made me laugh so damn much, so please, if you have the time, keep sending them in! Thank you all again for your reviews, I hope the replies got out okay. And thanks for reading everyone! Chapter 14 on the way soon!**_

_**LastCetra.**_


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

"Naminé."

Finishing an outline on her drawing, she looked up to see Diz at the entrance to her room. She had to admit she was surprised; Diz never spoke to her ever unless prompted. It seemed beyond him to start a conversation.

"Hi, Diz," she said. "Come in."

"This isn't a social call, Naminé. There is something I need from you."

Naminé knew there had to be a catch, and she was right. He had the people skills of a wooden plank. Apparently his mother had never even taught him the meaning of the word "pleasantries", never mind its use.

"It's something you want me to draw, right?" she sighed. Picking up a crayon, she started colouring her picture. It was of Riku; one she had sketched when he was skateboarding. She had several rough sketches of the tournament, but this was the only one she really wanted to draw out properly. He was poised mid-air; performing an ollie that Naminé never wished to forget.

"No, it is something different. Something much more challenging that will require a lot of tact and skill on your part. I did not want to have to resort to this, but as the current situation is rather bleak I believe it is our only option."

Naminé put down her crayon and looked at him, genuinely intrigued.

"I'm listening."

* * *

Riku had escalated his training. His defeat, now just over a month ago had been utterly humiliating, and he swore it was not going to happen a second time. It had taken him a lot of time to get better, but thankfully, he was a fast healer. He had been back to his regular training after two weeks, but the beating he had received had prevented him from pushing himself this hard until now. He had to fight him again, and win this time. He had disappointed so many people, and right about now he felt like they all needed some good news. Sora had been asleep for close to three months now, in which he had a major growth spurt. If he got any taller he was going to burst out of those ridiculous clothes. When he had some time maybe he'd go into town with Naminé and pick some out-

Furiously, Riku brushed the thought from his head. He and Naminé still weren't okay, and it was foolish for him to start thinking about things like that when they weren't even on speaking terms. Her lie was huge. She should have told him. Riku wasn't looking for her life story, but this was crucial to what she was. Naminé was secretive, and he knew there were things she never wanted to reveal, but he had felt so hurt when she had even denied him this one small thing. Being honest, it wasn't so much _what_ she was, but it really crushed him that she had so little faith in their friendship that she couldn't trust him. He had thought they had been stronger than that, he really had.

"Why do you continue to train down here?" Riku looked up to see Diz stride past him towards some machines. The man was intelligent, he knew that much, but he honestly didn't think he could so be technologically compatible. The first time he had seen him operate the equipment in the lab he had to admit he was stunned by how effortless he made it look.

"Did I not tell you that you were no longer needed?" he continued, sitting down to stare at the screen. Noting some of the changes floating across the monitor, he responded by entering a sequence of keys faster than Riku could follow.

"Mickey said-" he began, but was cut off immediately.

"I don't care what the King said. You had your chance, and you failed."

"I almost did it," Riku insisted. "I just need to be a little stronger..."

"We've lost the element of surprise, Riku. You no longer have any impact on the situation."

"I can still help!"

"If you want to help, then I would appreciate it if you would stop distracting me and allow me to do my work. Besides, I have set another plan in motion as of today."

"What are you going to do?" he asked.

"Naminé will capture him, " he replied simply.

"You're not serious," Riku said with a laugh. "Naminé. _Really_?"

"I believe she can perform a better job than you ever could."

"There is no way she can do it! She's not strong, she's not fast-"

"She has other talents."

"How the hell is she going to draw Roxas when he is bearing down on her! She'll get killed!"

"Naminé is a nobody, Riku. It is only obvious that she would be able to have empathy for him, and he would long for that. Nobodies only want to belong, and Naminé is also aware of that fact. We could use that to our advantage."

"No!" Riku insisted, his hand sweeping to his side angrily, cutting across the empty air. "It's too dangerous. What if he hurts her, or-"

Diz's rippling laughter caused Riku to stop. He glared at the man, his anger and impatience evident.

"This isn't funny, Diz," he spat.

"You're priceless!" he answered, a touch of humour in his voice. Even swathed in bandages, it wasn't hard to tell what he was thinking. "Do you actually love her?"

"I-" Riku began, but the words wouldn't come. Diz chuckled in amusement.

"Ahh, perfect," he commented. "You and your little emotions, they never cease to entertain me. I hardly thought it could become more ironic, but here we are, Riku, you've done it again. The shadow and the nobody, how poetic."

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked defensively, folding his arms stubbornly to hide how much of a nerve Diz was actually hitting.

"You do know she can never love you. Her thoughts, feelings and demeanour are but a reflection of her true self. She will never be free of that woman, and she most definitely will never have an independent thought."

"That's not fair!" he exclaimed. "She is still a person, no matter who else she might reflect. The things she's done, the mistakes she's made, they're all human qualities. Even is she doesn't have a heart, Naminé is still Naminé!"

"You seem to have it all figured out," Diz said slowly, slyly. He made his way over to Riku, bent down and whispered something in his ear. Riku froze, stunned, letting Diz walk out of the room, the obvious victor.

_"What _proof_ do you have that it was Naminé's actions? Is she really somebody, or do you only want to believe that?"_

Riku punched his fist violently into the wall. How was Diz able to discern instantly what he was thinking? How was he actually able to know what just to say to make him doubt himself?

And did he really love Naminé? He hardly knew how to feel anymore.

"Riku?"

The silver-haired boy turned sharply, his heart hammering in his chest. He didn't want to see her standing hesitantly at the door, waiting for an invite. He didn't want to hear her voice calling his name, no matter how much he enjoyed the way it rolled off her tongue. Not now, not when he was so confused... Was she really her? Was she really Naminé? If not, who was it he had gotten to know? Who was she?

Not receiving an answer, Naminé nodded to herself. She supposed he was still very annoyed with her. She had, after all, been lying to him. Riku had told her so much about who he was, and she had failed to even tell him _what_ she was. Her past was something she would never divulge to him, no matter how close they had gotten or would get in the future. But this...this was just an aspect of her, one that was no big deal. But she had made it a big deal. She thought that if he ever found out, he would hate her. After all they had been through, all they had seen and experienced, she had not wanted to go back to that. But it had, and she was finding it harder and harder to take with each passing day.

"I guess...you're busy," she said lightly, her cheery tone sounding fake, even to her. "I'll talk to you later, okay?" With that, she hurried out of the lab, leaving Riku standing alone once more. Reflexively, he opened his mouth to return her good bye, but shut it obstinately. Turning back to his soul reaper, he continued his training.

* * *

Riku knocked on the door of Diz's room. Hearing a grunt and taking it as a signal to come in, he turned the doorknob and walked inside. The room didn't have a bed, and looked more like an office than a bedroom. Diz was sitting behind the desk, writing in what seemed to be a large, leather-bound journal, which he shut as he saw who it was.

"Yes?" he asked curtly.

Riku had to ask it, so he did.

"Where the hell do you sleep??"

"I don't."

"Oh," was all he said in reply. He really didn't know what to say after such an outlandish statement. It seemed crazy, but Diz was the strangest person he had ever met, and that was really saying something when his best friend was Sora. It could very well be true.

"Do you have business with me?" he asked. "I have several matters to attend to that are quite pressing, and I'd rather not engage in idle chit-chat."

"Naminé is not going to capture Roxas," he stated bluntly. "We're finding another way."

"I have offered a solution," Diz said. "And it is the only one we have presently. Unless you have another means of doing this, the plan will proceed as arranged."

"There is another way," Riku said. "And I _will _find it."

Diz opened his book again and began to write. "I doubt it, but you can have your fun. Naminé will be going to meet Roxas in one week. You have until then to find an alternative strategy."

"Thanks, Diz."

"Goodbye," he replied, pointing his pen at the door. Riku took one more baffled look around the strange bedroom before doing as he was told.

* * *

_**Author's Notes:**_

_**It might be a small while before the next update. I'm currently about 4000 words into it, and I can tell that it's going to be a long one. There's so much to say and to do in it, and I'd feel wrong just cutting it halfway through for the sake of an update. It all just **__**feels**__** right together, that's all.**_

_**But yeah, it's coming closer and closer to the end, and I think people are going to be surprised at how fast the fic will actually finish. Let's see, we're on chapter 14...so there are about...five chapters left I think, possibly stretching to seven.**_

_**This chapter was pretty short, I know, but I loved doing it. DIZ IS SO MUCH FUN TO WRITE!!! Seriously, impeccable English is fun to do, and Diz is just the perfect candidate for such an opportunity!**_

_**Anyway guys, thanks for all the reviews (you three are awesome!!) and thank you so, so much for reading! I hope I see you all very soon!**_

_**LastCetra.**_


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

_I'm alone again._

_It should be a feeling I'm used to by now._

_So, why is this time different?_

_Why...why does it hurt so much?_

Riku was sitting down at the table in the kitchen, facing a blank sheet of paper. Used to a sword, the pen he was holding felt strange. He hadn't been to school in so long that it almost felt like he had forgotten how to write. Two days had passed, and he had come nowhere closer to finding a way to capture Roxas without using Naminé. He didn't know what he could do, other than try to fight Roxas again without telling anybody. Riku was sure that Diz had thought of that however, so he would never be able to slip away undetected. Not only that, but he was not capable of flying the gummi ship. Riku thought that he and motorised vehicles should be placed as far away as possible from each other. Well, he had no problem sitting in one, but controlling one was a whole other matter.

Naminé walked into the kitchen, but stopped as soon as she saw Riku in front of her.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said quickly. "I'll just-"

"No," he replied. "I should, you are, I don't-"

"I was...planning to make dinner, but I can leave it for an hour if you're busy."

"It's okay. I won't bother you. You can make it now if you want."

Naminé hesitated for a moment more, before nodding. "Okay, right....um, I won't be long." She walked over to the table, but stopped as she saw the sheet of paper in front of him.

"It's strange to see you with a pen," she noted. "What are you doing?"

"It's nothing," he said dismissively. "Just some things I was thinking about."

"Alright," she replied, hoping he would try to at least be civil. "I'd better-"

"Diz told me you were planning to go after Roxas," he offered, seeing the dejected look on her face. He hated being like this, but he just didn't know how to act around her anymore.

"Yeah," she muttered.

"Why did you agree to it?" he asked.

"I, guess we don't have that many choices left, you know? And I'm glad I can finally help for once."

"You'll help plenty when we get Sora back," he argued. "No one can do what you can do. If you die fighting Roxas, then he'll never get better."

"Have you got any other ideas?" she countered angrily. Riku looked at the blank sheet of paper in obvious dismay.

"No," he replied quietly. "I guess not."

They both stared at the floor, knowing their attempt at conversation had come to an abrupt end. Naminé didn't want this to be it. She had to come up with something. _Anything._

"Take a walk with me?" she asked him. Riku looked up at her in surprise. "Like we did then," she continued. "Our time on the road, you enjoyed it, didn't you?"

"Our talks were interesting," he relented.

"Yeah." She paused, half-turned, as if expecting him to follow her. "They were that, if anything else."

Riku rose and walked outside with her.

* * *

Their walk was a quiet one. Naminé didn't know how to start the conversation and Riku wasn't helping her out at all. She had no destination in mind, but their feet seemed to guide them in a large loop of the town. The silence didn't bother her that much. The sound of their rhythmic footfalls was comforting. For so long now she had been alone, and the silence she experienced then was a different, harsher one than this. When she had been by herself, all she had was her own footfalls to counter the vast stretches of quietness that surrounded her. Though it didn't seem like much, having Riku there filled her with a strange sense of assurance. The dull thud his shoes made against the cobblestones, the faint rustle of his clothes, even the soft sound of his exhaling breath were all signs of his presence. They were signs that she wasn't alone.

Before she knew it they had reached the train station. It was late evening, and the last train had arrived a long time ago, leaving it deserted. She stopped, unconsciously knowing that this was where they would talk.

"I missed this," she said.

"Naminé-"

"I know, I wasn't honest about who I am." She laughed, despite herself. "Sorry, let me correct myself. I wasn't honest about what I am."

"You're a nobody," he said.

"Yes."

"You have no heart."

"That's also true."

"You aren't human."

"I-" Naminé said, but couldn't finish. Not able to bring herself to look at him, she turned away. She didn't want to see his face of utter disappointment. How could she reply to that? Sure, she knew how her mind was reacting to his hurtful words, but was that only caused by an extended expression of her other self? What was it like to be "human"? Did anyone, even humans, know what that felt like? If they did, she would never know. That thought should have made her heart plummet, but as Riku had so eloquently put it, she didn't have a heart. Instead, she could only feel...empty.

"Did you," Riku said in a low voice. "Did you _ever_ mean what you said? Were those tears you cried for me real? Everything you felt, everything you said, every way you acted... Was that all just a lie? Was _any _of it everreal??" His voice held a quavering timbre that Naminé couldn't place.

"Were we ever even friends?"

A rage Naminé couldn't explain seemed to well up inside her in an uncontrollable fashion. Before she knew what she was doing, she strode to where Riku was standing and slapped him across the face, hard. Riku flinched at the contact, but did not try to counter. Instead, he put his hand to his cheek absently, saying nothing.

"Where do you get off thinking up such ridiculous ideas?" she hissed angrily. "We're friends, Riku, we really are, and I don't know how you can't see that!"

Riku shook his head and moved away from her. He walked over to the precipice and looked down, rubbing his forehead in exasperation.

"I need to think," he said quietly.

"No!"

Riku turned to look at her. Naminé had her arms folded and stared back at him intensely; blue eyes set and determined.

"It has been more than since you found out, Riku. We're going to talk it out, right here, right now."

"You don't get to decide that," he replied.

"If our friendship meant anything to you," she stated. "You will stay and talk to me, rather than going back to being the selfish, immature boy you've been all month!"

"You think _I'm _selfish?" he exclaimed. "Oh, that's really rich! If you had told me about this earlier, then we wouldn't be in this mess!"

"Why is it such a big deal?" she yelled. "At least I didn't turn my back on my friends because of my overpowering ego!"

"At least I have friends!"

That shot hit Naminé in a way she hadn't expected. Riku's words had a way of cutting her more than other people could.

"Well," she laughed shortly. "You're right. You're definitely right about that anyway." Naminé's arms loosened from their defensive, folded stance and moved to wrap around her fragile, slender frame. His words, they were so true. In fact, Riku was the first friend she had ever really made. The friendship they had created took a lot of time, and a lot of effort, and she saw how easily his trust in her had been shattered. Her friendships in the town had been distorted, as she always had to try so hard to hide her abilities from everyone. And Sora...well, everything she had ever had with him were based on false memories. Riku though, had been a person she had never had to hide from. Their friendship had not been built on pretence or deception. No, it was something much more, much bigger than that. She could be herself around Riku. Well, everything except a nobody. Through her own selfishness, she had lost him, and, in a way, she had lost a part of herself.

Riku noticed the dramatic change in her demeanour, and his face faltered. He had gone too far, again. He had tried so hard to work on that flaw, but when he was around her, he felt so insecure of himself, yet safe at the same time. He wanted to hurt her, but he wanted to keep her safe. He didn't know how such a paradox could exist...

But then again, Naminé shouldn't exist either, and there she was, standing right in front of him.

"Look, Naminé," he said. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"Just forget it, Riku. Forget it."

"Why didn't you tell me?" he inquired, imploring her to answer.

"Because I was scared, okay?"

"Of what?" he asked with a disbelieving laugh.

"Of this!" she exclaimed. "You reacted exactly how I thought you were going to react! I didn't want you distancing yourself from me, or looking at me in _that_ way."

"What are you talking about?" he questioned bewilderedly. "Look at you in what way?"

"Like...I'm a monster." Her words were said in a voice barely above a whisper, so low that Riku could only barely hear her.

"I don't-"

"Don't lie to me, Riku! You do! That monster that almost killed you-"

You're different from him, Naminé."

"When you saw what I was, it was like you hated the fact that I even existed. Because we're freaks. We _shouldn't_ exist. We are only here by pure accident after all."

"Hey, don't talk like that-"

"Look. You had a reason for coming into this world Riku. Your mom and dad decided they wanted a kid and they had you. My real self, she didn't _want _her heart to be taken by darkness, but it happened, and it's only because her will was so strong that I came into being."

"Naminé-" he started, but became silent as she raised her hand.

"Please, let me finish." Riku nodded, albeit reluctantly. Taking a deep breath, she continued.

"I don't...have a future. I don't have much of anything really. When the time comes for me to meet my true self, I'm going to disappear. If I'm killed, it won't matter." She paced around at the edge of the cliff, looking down into the swirling nothingness of twilight.

"The thing is, I shouldn't be here. I should never have met you. To be honest, I shouldn't feel....anything for you."

Riku hung his head in silent resignation. "I see."

"But, having sea-salt ice-cream, going all those places, walking with you...they're _my_ memories. My other self never did them, so she shouldn't know what it feels like, how happy it made her." She turned and looked up at Riku, the barest hint of a smile on her face.

"I really did love the time we spent together."

"Naminé," he sighed. "I just can't..."

"_I'm still me_!!" she screamed. "The person I was a month ago, she's still right here! Why don't you want to see that?!"

"I-" he started, but found he couldn't say anything else.

"Do you...really hate me that much?" Compared to her initial outburst, she said it quietly, as if she was afraid of his answer.

"N-no," he said quickly. "It's just..."

"It's just, what, Riku?" said a different voice.

The pair turned sharply towards the sound. It's owner was a red-haired man who was making his way leisurely up the path. They had been so absorbed in their conversation that they had not noticed his approach.

"Axel," Riku muttered sharply.

"No, please, don't mind me." He laughed. "I'm just _so _interested in where you're going with this."

"Get out of here," he said. "We're in the middle of something."

Axel stretched his arms over his head, and walked closer.

"Well, you see, I can't do that now can I?" he said.

Riku fixed his fighting stance and called his Soul Reaper to materialise in his hand.

"You forced my hand, Riku. I couldn't have been more polite. I asked you _sooo_ nicely to stay away from Roxas, and what do you do? You go behind my back and fight him anyway!" Axel stopped about six feet from Riku, and continued.

"I must admit, the blindfold was a nice touch. Roxy didn't see that one coming, but he's a smart kid. He knows how to improvise." Axel tapped his index finger against his forehead knowingly.

"Too bad," Riku replied. "Next time I won't go so easy on him."

"Oh, I think this is where I think you and I are going to part our civil little ways." Axel's green eyes narrowed, and the sparkle that was ever present faded into an angry lust for destruction. "You see, Riku, I get what I want. Take your Nami-Nami for instance. All I had to do was start a little fire, and poof! She's blubbering like a little girl."

His face turned to take in Naminé's horror stricken reaction. Her eyes were wide, and her whole body was trembling with the realisation his words brought.

"No hard feelings, sweetie."

"You, you didn't..." she whispered. "I, I drew...it was me."

"Do you honestly think you would wish for the destruction of your parents? No matter how much you tried, you would never have truly wished it, and the change couldn't happen. I just had to get a little creative, that's all."

"No," she gasped in disbelief, her hands covering her mouth, almost as if she were afraid to say the word. She thought she should have been relieved that it wasn't her fault, but all she could feel was a churning sickness. Her home, her friends, her family, her life.... Everyone she had ever loved, all the people who had called her a witch, forced her from her home, her time at the Organisation....it was all his fault.

"You took _EVERYTHING _from me!" she screamed. She charged towards him, nothing else but hatred and revenge on her mind. She wanted to hurt him, tear him apart for what he did to her.

A firm hand caught hold of her wrist and pulled her back forcefully. Naminé plummeted to the ground. She looked up to see Riku standing in front of her, a shield between her and Axel.

"What are you doing?" she yelled.

"Stay there!" he commanded sharply.

Naminé got up quickly and tried to push him to the side, but Riku grabbed her arms forcefully, his tight grip demanding her to be still.

"Can't you see, Naminé? That's exactly the reaction he wanted from you!"

"I've got to hand it to you, kid," Axel said with a sly smile. "You've got a mind underneath all that brawn."

"You stay away from her," he snarled.

"Oh my," he replied in feigned shock. "And here I thought you hated her, now that you know she's just. Like. Me."

"I'm not a fool, Axel," Riku shot back, his voice calm. "I don't fall for stupid tricks." Nonetheless, he had never thought of that before. She was like Axel, like Roxas. So, why? Why wasn't she a bad guy like the rest of them? How did she remain so untainted, even after all the things she had done?

Axel smiled. Even though Riku wasn't biting, the words had had their desired effect.

"So, you still do care," he commented. "Perhaps this won't be such a wasted trip after all."

It was mutually understood that those words signalled the start of their fight. Riku and Axel lunged at each other; Axel sweeping his chakrams horizontally while Riku brought his Soul Reaper down vertically. The force of the resulting clash left Riku barely holding onto his sword. He had been right when he had made his first assumption of Axel. The man was sleight, but unbelievably skilled and powerful. Leaping back, both took in a pause before attacking once more. Axel used the same move as before, which Riku had anticipated and easily dodged. He jumped high into the air and threw his sword at Axel. Unaware of his reckless nature, Axel only barely avoided the blow, but managed to get nicked in the arm. Pumped full of adrenaline, it was a wound that was barely felt.

Axel smiled. He liked a challenge, and Riku was proving to be more skilled than he had thought. Sure, the boy had already defeated Lexaeus and Zexion, but the former was only brawn, and the latter only brains. Neither of them had the full qualities of a warrior. Axel was not one for boasting, but he knew he could take care of himself.

"Playtime's over," he sneered. "It's about time I actually got serious, you know?"

"You don't even know the meaning of the word," Riku hissed, tightening his grip on his sword.

A sudden gust of wind blew quickly around Riku, and immediately, he could feel his muscles tightening and strength increasing. He turned in shock to look at Naminé, who shrugged.

"Well, I didn't know Aero," she said simply. "So I thought I should learn."

He didn't have time to thank her. Axel advanced on him quickly, jumping high into the air and propelling his chakrams forward. Riku dodged it cleanly with a deft back flip, but wasn't ready for how fast Axel appeared at his side. Discs still in the air, Axel brought both his hands forward and shot a fire attack straight into Riku's torso. Considering how little time Axel had to release the spell, it was a pretty weak attack, but nevertheless Riku doubled over, winded.

"Riku!" Naminé screamed. "Above you!"

He looked up. He had forgotten about the discs. Gritting his teeth, he got to his feet and deflected the deadly weapons with his sword. Axel caught them easily and laughed.

"I thought you were going to show me a good time today, Riku."

"Shut up," he snarled, clutching his burnt stomach with his free hand.

"And here I thought I was being considerate and all, giving you some time to recover." Axel smiled, spinning his chakrams in the air for his own amusement.

"Shut _UP_!" Riku repeated, doubling his grip on his sword. He made a lunge for Axel, who side-stepped his attack and forced his weapon upwards in a beautiful arc, headed straight for Riku's chin. Riku, seeing the move too late, turned desperately to avoid it. While it missed his chin, the spikes from the weapon created a deep, long gash along his upper arm. The pain made his whole hand convulse dangerously, and he dropped his sword. He gripped his arm desperately, trying to stop it from shaking so badly. He wasn't himself today. Usually his attacks were more controlled and precise, but now, he seemed to be fighting worse than ever. If he failed this encounter like he had failed the fight with Roxas, there was no way he was going to live with himself.

Axel jumped away from them and landed neatly on top of the train station roof. His expression taking a more serious look, he started to perform another fire spell, this one decidedly more powerful than the last. If Riku hadn't been so otherwise occupied, it would have been wonderful to watch. The energy Axel needed for his attack seemed to originate from deep within his body and flow through him, gathering more strength as it touched each cell it passed.

Riku reached for his sword with his uninjured, left hand.

"Naminé," he clipped shortly. She stepped up beside him immediately.

"Yes?"

"Aim a spell at him to stop his attack, I can't reach him from down here!"

"What kind of spell-"

"ANY ONE!" he interrupted angrily. "Just cast it!"

"Okay," she replied, deciding upon a weak blizzard spell.

"Not happening, sweetie," Axel said, releasing his own spell at the same time as Naminé. His attack was weakened somewhat by the ice, but the power of the spell was much greater than hers. It melted the ice almost effortlessly and hit Naminé directly. She was thrown back by the sheer force of it, losing consciousness immediately.

"Naminé!" Riku cried, running over to her. Hesitantly, he put his two fingers to her neck. There was no pulse.

"Please, Naminé," he said desperately. "Naminé, please, no, please...." Not receiving a response, he turned slowly to face Axel, his eyes set and determined.

"You bastard," he growled. Dark tendrils started to escape from his heart and wrap around his lithe frame. Spreading his arms wide, his body lifted into the air of its own accord as the darkness became more dense. An angry scream ripped through his throat, and faster than Axel's eyes could follow, Riku's form changed. He was released from his suspended state, and as soon as his feet touched the ground, his Soul Reaper materialised in his gloved hands.

"Impressive," Axel said in admiration. "But that's not going to change any-"

Axel couldn't finish. Riku had appeared right behind him and thrust his sword through Axel's stomach. Axel's eyes widened in shock and pain, taken completely unawares by the attack. A blast of darkness left Riku's hand and struck against Axel's back, sending him flying off both the sword and the station roof. He landed hard on the steps of the station platform.

"How?" he spluttered, trying to rise up, but weakened and winded by the force of his attack.

Riku jumped down and grabbed Axel's cloak; hauling him roughly to his feet. Rage burning within him, he slammed his knee into the wound on his enemy's torso. Axel crumpled to the floor, but Riku picked him up again and repeated the process. Folding his arms, he stood above Axel, his face a picture of hate.

"Get up," he said lowly.

"Would it.. would it make your day if I said I couldn't?" he replied derisively, holding his stomach tightly to try and stop the bleeding. Riku knelt over Axel's body and grabbed his throat.

"Why?" he yelled, pummelling the nobody's face with his fist as if he were a rag doll. "Why won't you leave us alone?"

Axel coughed, and a trickle of blood escaped his mouth. "I...won't stop," he said. "As long as, as long as you try to capture my friend, I'm not going to go away."

"Then I need to make you disappear," Riku said through gritted teeth, placing his Soul Reaper against his enemy's throat. Axel nodded, closing his eyes in acceptance.

"I understand," he acknowledged with a smile. Despite his awaiting fate, Riku was surprised that Axel wasn't afraid. "Sora, Naminé...just as I have someone I need to protect, so do you."

"Riku! Don't!!"

Riku turned around quickly, relief flooding through him at the sound of her voice. Naminé had pulled herself to her knees. Badly burnt, she was barely keeping herself together, and looked to be in serious pain. How could she have survived an attack like that? He hadn't felt a pulse...

Then it hit him. She was a nobody. She didn't have one. Tears pricked in his eyes to know she was alive, but they burned with the knowledge that Axel was the cause of so much of her suffering.

"No, Naminé," he said firmly, turning his attention back to Axel. "Look what he did to you, what he did to your family! I'm not going to let him do it to anyone ever again!"

"I know that!" she yelled. "But still..." Even after all he had done, he had been kind to her in Castle Oblivion. He had been the only one who would talk to her without looking for anything in return, and when Larxene and Marluxia had left, he had let her go...

"Please, Riku..." she begged. "Please..."

Riku pressed his sword further into Axel's neck, but, his resolve failing, he released his foe from his grasp, throwing him roughly onto the pavement in angry exasperation. His darkness falling away, he reverted back to his light form.

"Don't you _dare_ come near me, or Naminé ever again," he warned.

Axel laughed painfully, ripping open a dark corridor to fall through. "That's not a promise I can keep, kid."

Riku waited until Axel had disappeared before lowering his sword. He ran over to Naminé and raised her up in his arms.

"Hey," he said gently. "You still with me?"

"Did you..." she asked weakly. "Did you, let him go?"

"Yeah," he replied softly with a nod. Her face fell into a smile.

"I'm glad," she said with a sigh of relief, and fell back into unconsciousness.

* * *

_**Author's Note:**_

_**This chapter was obscenely long, so I decided that I really did have to cut it in two. I think ten pages is enough for an entry anyway. As the rest of the chapter is written, I'll have it up in the next couple of days, so don't despair! (as if you would!)**_

_**The fight with Axel was extremely difficult, and in all honesty, was the cause of the delay. I just, didn't know how to write it. Any critique would really be appreciated on this part.**_

_**Thank you for all the reviews, if you have the time keep them coming! And once again, thank you all for reading. **_

_**LastCetra.**_


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Riku sat down cross-legged on the cold, stone floor. He shivered; the room had to be kept at an icy temperature to keep everything functioning at "optimal capacity", or so Diz had said anyway. In front of him was a pod, in which Sora remained asleep.

"Hey," Riku said softly. He didn't know why he kept his voice so quiet, but for some reason he had the exact same feeling he got when he was in a library.

"Sorry I haven't been to visit as much lately," he continued. "But I figured you were asleep and wouldn't mind. You can't even remember my visits anyway." He laughed, and leaned back on his hands to get a better look at his friend. Sora looked so...serene, with his eyes closed, like he was still a kid and the last year hadn't affected him at all. Sometimes, when he thought about all the trouble they had had as of late, he wondered was it worth even waking him. Sora could be so happy, and he'd never have to suffer again. Why was it so much better to be awake in chaos than to be left to dream in nirvana? Nothing could touch him there, or ever hurt him. It seemed like such a pleasant option.

On the other hand, Riku knew that Diz had given him the exact same option only months ago, and he had chosen to stay awake. There were times when he wondered why he had chosen that particular path. He knew, given the choice, Sora would choose as he had.

"You know, in the past few days, I have to admit that I've missed you a lot," he said. He knew he sounded a bit silly talking to him when the guy couldn't even answer, but it was at times like this they had always talked, and Riku had missed his company a lot in the year they had been apart.

"I fought Axel today," he said offhandedly. "I was getting the life beat out of me, but as soon as Naminé was hit...I don't know, Sora. I, I went crazy. The 'dark me' kind of crazy." He shook his head and drew his knees to his chest. "This, rage just took over. I lost control of my darkness, of me...." He sighed.

"It was the first time I think I was ever really scared of myself," he admitted quietly. "I've only just learned to live alongside my darkness, but there's always going to be this chance that it will consume me like it did before. You've never really had the temptation of it, cause you're nothing but a goody-two-shoes, but Sora...the thrill, the rush, the _power_....it's enough to make you dizzy, and it's a very hard thing to turn away from."

He paused, not really knowing how to voice his next thoughts. They hardly made sense to him as it was, never mind trying to explain to his best friend.

"But, Naminé," he continued. "Naminé, she...well, she brought me back. Her voice was like, I don't really know...a kite-string? She kept me grounded, made sure I didn't fly away into oblivion. But you know what's strange? She's also the one who made me snap. How is she able to bring out both sides of me like that? Not even _you_ ever made me that mad, and let's face it, you've pushed some buttons over the years."

"She's not like other nobodies. She's kinder. She cares. But I don't get it. She doesn't have a heart, so how can she feel those things? Like, take today. She begged me to let Axel go. He's the guy who killed her foster parents for Bambi's sake! How can she do that? How can she act so selflessly? Not even I could be that gracious, and I actually have a heart!"

Riku rested his head on his knees. "I don't really care that she doesn't have one, being honest. She's able to mess me up inside, and I don't know how she does it. I think, I just wanted an excuse to push her away from me, cause I didn't really know how to deal with how she makes me feel. But, it's been worse with her missing; I can't concentrate, or do anything productive. Training helps, because you know yourself, all the time you're training you don't have to think about anything else. When that's done though, Naminé's back in my head again, and she won't leave."

He sighed, though he wasn't tired or sad.

"She...kinda makes me want to be better, you know?" his voice became more subdued. "I want to be the guy that she can turn to when she has a problem, cause she'll know I'll be able to fix it. I never want to see her hurt, or be the one to make her cry. I just want to look after her, take care of her."

"I think," Riku said, taking a deep breath. "I think I love her."

* * *

Naminé was in the White Room in the mansion. Unused until she had arrived, she had come to claim it as her own. She had decorated it by posting some of her own pictures on the walls, and hoped to add to her meagre collection as she drew more. The room looked out over the mansion's front garden, and she had to admit that it was one impressive sight. Gates and fountains and beautiful shrubs dotted the lawn, which was becoming rapidly overgrown with each passing day. She desperately wanted to go out and work on it, but Diz had taken up a lot of her time in the past two days. He was an intense trainer, and though he knew she wasn't going best Roxas physically, he made sure that she had at least some skills before facing him.

With the condition she was in now, however, she knew that that was going to be postponed for a while anyway. She was sore, yes, but it was bearable. Mickey was a magic user also, and he had healed the worst of the damage. She was able to walk around, but the King had given her strict orders not to leave the mansion for a few days until she had recovered. He had wanted her to stay in bed, but if she did that she was sure she would die of boredom.

She sighed and leaned her head on her hand. The table she was sitting at was long and beautiful; she couldn't understand why they hadn't made this place a dining room but she didn't mind. She liked its colour. White always had a calming effect on her.

A lot had happened in one day. She thought having the courage to finally tell Riku how she felt was going to be as eventful as it could get, but she had been in for some surprise on that front. But Noel....Lillian...he _killed_ them. She curled her small hand around her pencil, so tightly that she soon heard a snap. She dropped the broken writing instrument onto the table without as much as a second thought.

She had to admit, she couldn't get her mind around it. She had been so sure, so damn sure that it was her fault. The thought that someone could have been tricking her for all this time hadn't even crossed her mind. For Axel to do such a thing...

But then again, everything was a game to that man. The only person he ever really cared for was Roxas. Everything else could turn to ashes as far as he was concerned, and with his fire abilities, he made that happen quite often.

Naminé's original anger had passed. Riku did do the right thing by pulling her back. She was no match for Axel, she knew that. She had been so caught up in the moment, in the revelation, in her seething rage that she couldn't think of anything but revenge. Personal safety hadn't been an issue. No, what she felt now was still a lot worse than anything. Even though the guilt had been lifted, even though Axel had gotten his just desserts and had been beaten to a bloody pulp by Riku, this over-whelming sense of helplessness and loss had engulfed her. Noel and Lillian....they weren't coming back. No matter what happened, how far she moved on, the memory of their death would act forever as her shadow.

Still, why did she leave him go? Riku was going to kill Axel, and her mind should have wanted that. But, something had pulled her back from that oblivion. She didn't have a heart, so she couldn't have a conscience. What had made her act that way, have those second thoughts? How could she feel when she shouldn't be able to?

She didn't want Riku to have that kind of a death on his hands. Even if Axel wasn't human, he was once. And Axel...to her he didn't feel as bad as the others. He seemed like he was in the Organisation for the sake of convenience, rather than having a loyalty to its cause. His only friend in the whole place was Roxas. Maybe, maybe he was just lonely. In a lot of respects, he was a lot like her. She had done horrible things too, so how could she judge? She would just be a hypocrite otherwise.

Naminé heard a knock on the door.

"Come in," she said, wondering why Diz wouldn't leave her alone for two hours.

The door opened and Riku walked inside to her utter surprise. Naminé stood up quickly, smoothing out her dress as she did so. She winced at the pain from her burns. She had to be more careful with herself until she healed.

"Riku," she stammered, caught completely off-guard by his entrance. "What are you doing here-"

Naminé didn't have time to finish her sentence. Riku strode over to her, and without giving any warning, pulled her towards him in a firm hug. Surprised, but not unwelcoming of the gesture, she rested her head against his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry," he muttered. "I'm so, so sorry." Naminé moved her hands from around his waist and gripped his shoulders tightly, pressing their bodies closer together.

"I just want us to be okay," she whispered, tears threatening her voice.

"We are," he insisted.

They stayed together like that for a long time, rocking back and forth soothingly in their tight embrace, offering small, whispered words of comfort to fill the gap in their hearts created by each other's absence. Soon, the words fell away and they hugged each other silently; Naminé and Riku both wanting nothing more than to never let go.

* * *

**_Author's Notes:_**

**_Two in one day! SURPRISE! Thanks for reading!!_**


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

A small café had just opened in Twilight Town, but was proving to be hugely popular to those who knew where it was nestled amongst the back-alleys. Naminé and Riku had been lucky enough to be able to grab some seats inside, and were licking the sea-salt ice-cream they had just bought. It had been a week since their encounter with Axel. Due to Naminé's injuries, Diz had postponed her encounter with Roxas, something Riku thought to be the only upside to her condition. It gave him more time to come up with another strategy. However, he didn't have that much time. Naminé was healing fast, and it would only be a matter of days before Diz would bring up the fight again. He had to think of something soon, or it might mean that she would be coming back with more than just burn wounds.

This, however, was the last thing on Riku's mind. It was sunny, and Naminé was had been allowed to leave the mansion as long as he would take care of her. Being honest, Riku thought that he was in need of a break. Everything had gotten so, so serious recently, and all he wanted to do was forget about things, even if it was only for a little while.

"You know," he said. "I don't think I'll ever get sick of this stuff."

"Me neither," she replied, biting into the bottom corner of the ice-cream to avoid it spilling all over her clothes.

"I never brought some back to the others the last time," she said suddenly.

"Oh yeah," he said, "That was the time when we first met Axel. I guess we had other things to worry about then." He gave her a small, understanding, half-smile, which she returned wordlessly.

"I'll go buy some more. Might as well get Diz one too."

"Do you actually think he'll like it?" he asked incredulously.

"No," she replied. "Personally, I think he'll hate it, but I don't want him to feel left out."

"You're unbelievable," he sighed, shaking his head in exasperation.

"I...guess I'll take that as a compliment," she said with a smile.

Riku noticed a group of people walking towards them, and tapped Naminé lightly on the arm. She turned as he gestured behind her.

"Hi guys!" she said with a wave. Noticing her frantic hand-movements, they walked over to their table.

"Hey, it's Namiku!" Hayner said cheerfully.

"N-Namiku?" Riku stammered.

"Yeah, you see I took the first two syllables of Naminé and the last one of your name and-"

"I get the reference," Riku said flatly. Hayner, Pence, Olette and Naminé laughed together good-naturedly.

"Well, I have to give the credit to Pence, here," Hayner said, slapping his friend on the back. "He just has a gift when it comes to nicknames, and since the two of you are always together, we might as well just call you the one thing!"

"Thanks, Pence," Riku said.

"Hey, Naminé," Olette said, pulling up a chair beside her. "What happened to your arm? It looks really bad, are you okay?"

"I...um," she muttered, trying to hide the burnt appendage behind her back so that the trio couldn't see it. "It was just an accident, that's all. I'm fine, really."

"How did it happen?" Pence asked, his face a picture of concern. Hayner nodded in agreement.

"It was silly, really," she replied.

"Yeah," Riku said, jumping in. "Our cooker broke and so we decided to try cooking outside on an open fire."

"Really stupid, we know," Naminé agreed.

"Yeah, we even got these flimsy little sticks to hold the pot up, and you can imagine how that was going to turn out."

"I had just boiled a pot of water on it," Naminé continued, "and when I went to lift it off the stick I forgot how heavy it actually was and flew forward into the fire. Thankfully, my arm got the worst of it."

Naminé and Riku looked at each other, both knowing they left out the part about the burns stretching across her stomach.

"Nami, you've got to be more careful," Olette admonished. "You could have been really hurt!"

"Thanks, Mom," she replied with a grin, which broke the tension around the table.

"Well, we're actually heading to the train station," Hayner said. "Do you want to come with us?"

Riku looked towards the clock tower, and cringed at seeing what time it was.

"No, we'd better be going home soon," he replied. "But thanks for the offer."

"We'll hang out next time," Naminé assured them.

"Okay then," Olette said. "No more falling into fires, Nami, okay?"

Naminé laughed. "Go on, get going!"

"Bye," they all chorused, before walking away. The pair waited until the trio had turned the corner before heaving a sigh of relief.

"Our cooker broke?" Naminé said in disbelief. "Couldn't you have picked something better than our cooker breaking down?"

"Hey, they bought it, didn't they?" he argued. "And I didn't see you coming up with anything great yourself!"

"Fine, fine," she replied, defeated. "I'll go get the ice-cream now, okay? I'll meet you outside in two minutes."

Riku nodded and walked outside. He couldn't help but think about her, and what a close call that had been a week ago. It was hard to believe that he had almost lost her. Even though she was alright, she had been severely lucky.

And then he had gone and given her that hug....

The dynamic in their friendship had changed, and Riku knew that Naminé had noticed as well. He was surprised that she hadn't said anything, but as he had gotten to know her more and more, he had realised that she hated confrontation. It was why she took all that abuse from Diz all the time without a word, it was why she had waited so long to call him on his behaviour towards her over the last month, and it was why she hadn't told him that she was a nobody. No, if Riku wanted to talk about this change between them, he would have to bring it up himself.

He had acted so out of character the night before. All he knew was after he had spoken to Sora he needed to see her, and when he did, an urge he had never even imagined about had come over him. It was so strong, it awoke an instinct more powerful than his intelligence and common sense. Naminé over-rode every feeling of rationality he could ever muster, blocking out any conflicting action that involved staying away from her, and though it was a scary feeling, he absolutely loved it. He didn't know how many times she had brought him to the edge of madness, but with her there to keep him company on the journey, he felt that each treacherous slip towards such an insanity was nothing but euphoric.

Riku knew it know; why he acted so differently when she was around, why he left himself more open to her embraces and touches, and why he had shown parts of himself to her that no one else would ever see. It was such an easy answer, and he wondered why it had taken him until last night to realise that he loved her.

Before, when they were on the island, Riku had thought that he had loved Kairi. He was sure that what he had felt for her was real, and that there would be no other girl for him. But, she was Sora's girl, and he was okay with that. Naminé though, Naminé was on a whole other level. She was able to stir feelings within him that he had never though existed. She was able to make him feel so vulnerable, but at the same time she could make him think like he could take on the world.

"Hey, Mr. Daydreamer!" Naminé greeted, leaping onto his back. Riku lurched forward, taken completely by surprise. "Jeez, for someone who takes pride in being aware of his surroundings, you sure are spaced out today."

Riku caught her legs and shifted her weight so that she was fully resting on his back.

"Did you get the ice-cream?" he asked.

"Yeah, the man said that we need to get it back as soon as we can though. The salt will keep it together for a while, but as it melts it'll lose its flavour."

"We'd better get going then," he said, tilting his head to the side and giving her an evil sort of smile. Naminé faltered at the look on his face.

"What are you going to do?" she asked, already knowing that she wouldn't like the answer.

"_I'm _going for a run," he replied, tightening his hold on her legs. Naminé squirmed uncomfortably, trying her best to break from his grip. Riku, however, would have none of it.

"No-no-no, Riku, put me down. Put me down-"

"Too late!" he chirped, and broke into a sprint.

"RIKU!!" she screamed.

* * *

Riku put Naminé down next to one of the trees in the forest near the mansion. She shakily put her hand against it to steady herself, but, not being enough to hold her upright, plopped down unceremoniously onto the soft earth.

"You okay?" he asked, his grin evident.

"The world is still spinning," she said slowly, closing her eyes and letting her head fall back against the tree. Riku sat down beside her and laughed. He loved the way her hair had become so dishevelled and wiry from the wind while he was running. It made her look so...

"That's what you get for messing with me," he said, giving her a nudge, trying to force those feelings out of his head.

"Remind me to never jump on you again," she intoned.

"Hey, I'm not going to remind you," he replied. "You know the consequences!"

"Well....I can be mean too!" she argued, opening her eyes to look at Riku. He raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

"I'd like to see you try."

With that, Naminé threw herself over his lap. Riku let his eyes roll upwards in defeat.

"What the hell was that?" he asked.

"There," she replied victoriously. "I win." Riku sighed, and they both laughed. Naminé moved herself until only her head was lying on his legs. They exchanged smiles before she closed her eyes.

"Mmm, I could sleep here," she said slowly, her voice purring with contentment. Riku didn't know what to do with his hands, whether he should fold them, lace them behind his head, put them on his lap...it was such a simple decision, but he couldn't make it. They remained hovering in mid-air for a few seconds more before finally settling on placing them at his sides.

"Aren't you uneasy?" he asked. He could feel the pollen from the Rebra trying to expel him from the forest, but the light he carried only made him deeply unsettled by it. Since Naminé was in grey, she must have been susceptible to its effects also, even if she hadn't mentioned it the first time they passed through the forest together.

"Well, I am, a little," she admitted. "But you're here, so I know I'll be safe."

Riku raised his hand and started playing with her hair. It was the perfect time to tell her, he just knew it. Opportunities this good did not just come along. The setting was right, the mood was perfect, and here she was, this amazingly beautiful woman, just lying on his lap. A woman, who just seconds ago had told him she felt safe when he was around. What was he waiting for?

"Naminé?" he asked.

"What is it?" she answered. Her eyes opened and deep pools of blue looked at him questioningly.

_Ask, Riku! For the love of all things good and light in the worlds, just ask already!_

Riku let her golden tresses fall from his fingers, and returned his hand to its original position. He looked away and sighed.

"It's nothing."

* * *

_**Author's Notes:**_

_**Thank you all for the slew of reviews I got after posting the last two chapters. I really enjoyed reading what you all had to say, and I got some great pointers which I will try to slip in somewhere along the next few installments! This fanfic is rapidly nearing its end; and hopefully I'll get the last few chapters finished by the end of July, though that is not a promise I will make right now. Holidays are coming soon, so I will be doing a lot of work on this fanfic in that time in a means to get it finished. I suppose it has been dragging on for over two years now, and those who have been with me from the start will be just as relieved as I am to see its completion!**_

_**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, and thank you for reading!**_

_**LastCetra.**_


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

Rubbing his hair dry from the shower, Riku sighed happily. He had just finished up his training for the day, and he felt fantastic. Ever since the fight with Axel, his faith in his abilities had been renewed. He knew he was a strong, but the darkness he had harboured in his body in that encounter had made him a formidable fighter. Letting the darkness flow so liberally last time had been a severely idiotic move on his part, but the power he gained from it had been exhilarating. He knew now, if he could get to that state of mind without losing control, he could beat Roxas for sure. The only problem would be trying to convince Diz to give him enough time to master that instead of letting Naminé go instead. Now fully recovered from her injuries, Diz had requested she begin training again, to which she had agreed readily. The were due to start tomorrow.

Suddenly, Riku's mood began to plummet. Knowing thoughts like this were only going to hamper his good humour, he did his best to put them out of his head. Pulling on some jeans and a shirt, he decided to see what Naminé was up to. He walked to her room, and receiving no answer when he knocked on the door, made his way to the other side of the mansion.

"Hey, Nami?" he said, knocking on her door.

"Come in," she called. Riku turned the doorknob and walked inside to the White Room. He now found her here often. It had become something like a drawing sanctuary to her in the last couple of weeks. At present, she seemed to be in the middle of working on yet another picture for her wall; a piece that showed Mickey and himself trying their hardest to move a stone statue to the side of the kitchen. It had held an imposing spot in the middle of the room; one that Naminé had said was "slowing up everything" as she tried to cook every day.

"Hey, Riku!" she said happily, putting down her pencil and giving him a warm smile. He smiled back, though his stomach made a sudden lurch in an attempt to travel up his oesophagus.

"Hi," he replied, sitting down on the chair next to her. "Drawing?"

"As always," she laughed, picking her pencil up again. "You should try it sometime, you might like it."

"I thought you didn't?" he said, confused at her sudden enthusiasm for the art form. He remembered when they were on the road how compelled she had been to draw, but was also aware of the unhappiness it brought her.

"I don't know why," she answered, sweeping the lead across the page in light but practised stokes. "Since Axel...." Naminé let the thought go unfinished, but Riku understood immediately.

"You don't feel as bad about what happened," he completed.

"Something like that," she agreed wistfully.

A comfortable silence wafted over them naturally after her words. Naminé continued to draw, while Riku watched her do so. He had to admit he wasn't an art connoisseur by any means, but he found her style to be so strikingly beautiful. It just had an amazing simplicity to it, and maybe he was being biased, but he didn't care.

"Naminé?" he said tentatively. "Can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead," she replied, keeping her eyes focused on the work in front of her.

"Roxas is Sora's Nobody, right?"

"Yes..." she affirmed, wondering where he was going with this.

"So, who are you a Nobody of?"

Naminé had to admit the question came as a bit of a surprise, though she realised that she should have been expecting it with a while.

"The truth is, Riku," she said sombrely. "I don't know."

"Oh," he replied, but seeing the dejected look on her face made him wonder. "Is that such a bad thing?"

"Not really, I suppose." She looked at her hands for a moment, then put them on her lap. "Nobodies...usually retain memories of who they were before. They're fragmented, and usually come only in flashes, but at least they're _something_."

Riku gave her a quizzical look. "You don't get those?"

"No, and before you ask, I don't know why. It doesn't make sense. In Organisation XIII, all of them had those kind of memories. Well, all except Roxas."

"Roxas?"

"Yes. Axel said it to me once. I wonder sometimes if there's a reason why only Roxas and I have forgotten who we were. I'd like to meet him someday, if only once. I might get some answers. Maybe, Sora and I are connected somehow."

"Yeah," Riku replied quietly.

"I'd like that, you know."

"Of course you would," he said, his eyes distant. "Sora's a great guy, and the Keyblade master. Who wouldn't want to be connected with him?"

"Well," Naminé said, looking outside to the garden. She didn't want to see his face as she said her next words. "It's not that, really. It's just, if Sora and I were connected, it means that my real self probably knew you as well. It's nice to think that if I disappear someday, I'd still be able to see you."

"Don't talk like that," Riku said immediately, but something inside him tugged painfully at his heart upon hearing those words. He had to admit that Naminé meeting her real self was a definite possibility, but if it was a person in his life that was close to him? Selphie, or Kairi; if she ever came into contact with any of the friends he'd made over the years she'd return to them, probably instantly too. He couldn't imagine it, and his mind had a hard time processing the implications of her meeting the people in his life, the female ones anyway.

"Does it ever bother you?" he asked. "Being a Nobody I mean."

"At the start, I guess," she admitted. "But, when I think about it, I'm really lucky. I got a chance to exist, and having no memories of who I was means I can be my own person, even if I'm just going around, doing what she would normally do, if she were me...." Naminé laughed. "Oh, I don't know, it's really hard to explain!"

"But," Riku argued. "Aren't you afraid at all? The next person you meet could be her."

"The next person you meet could have a gun and shoot you in the head," she countered. Riku cringed at her rationalisation, but saw the sense in it nonetheless.

"I suppose," he said slowly. "It's best not to think about the future that much."

"Yes," Naminé agreed with a smile. "It makes you appreciate the time you have now. Take us for example; I shouldn't technically be here, having this conversation with you. But I'm so happy I was given the chance to do just that."

"You ever wonder what would have happened if I had went to sleep?" he asked.

"That's easy," she replied. "We wouldn't be here, having this conversation!"

"Knowing me," he said. "I probably would have made the same mistakes I made over a year ago as soon as I woke up."

"Your heart would have remembered," Naminé assured him. "I don't think that would happen."

Riku stood up and walked to the window. He let his hand lean against the frame and looked outside towards the woods. They stood quietly, and he could feel the mystic, almost unearthly aura radiating from the trees.

"The first time we walked through those woods," he said. "Do you remember?"

"Of course!" she answered immediately. "You were really freaked out by it."

"Remember when you said the pollen repelled darkness? To be honest, I don't think you even had to tell me that time. I could feel it, just eating away at me, but the light in me stopped that from happening. It's so weird; I was born with light, but darkness has made me who I am. I'm sometimes so afraid of it no longer being there."

"But," Naminé said, her voice full of concern. "You've learned to balance light and darkness so well. Not even Mickey knew that could happen until he met you."

"No..." he replied, shaking his head sombrely. "I've learned to live with my darkness, but there's no way that it has balanced itself out. I don't hate it, I just want to be able to use it without losing control of it. Darkness makes me powerful, Naminé. If I had the proper abilities, if I could manipulate it without getting emotional, I could beat Roxas. I just know I could."

"Hey," Naminé said, joining him at the window. "Let me worry about that, okay? I'll have Roxas back here before you could say one hundred and one Dalmatians!"

Riku said nothing, but continued to look outside at the trees.

"What are you thinking?" she asked, placing her hand on his arm gently in a small gesture of comfort. He was ever the fighter, and she knew that not being able to do what had become his life must be a blow to his confidence.

"What I could do if I was made completely of darkness," he mused.

"Why would you want that?" she said, her face a mixture of surprise and horror. That thought led to a bad road; one she knew neither of them wanted to walk. And if he went alone, there would be no possible way for her to follow.

"I....don't know," he replied. "Light is what makes me make the mistakes, darkness has nothing but power behind it. If I was made up of darkness, it would only be darkness I had to control."

Naminé opened her mouth to speak, but Riku was no longer listening to the words she was uttering. His mind had travelled back to their first visit to Twilight Town. He knew now, he knew what he had to do to achieve that power in such a short space of time. He knew now how to save Sora, and keep Naminé from being hurt. The answer had been right in front of him for so long; why hadn't he thought of it sooner?

_"In this forest, there's also another tree, the Berra, which acts in the opposite way. But its pollen has to be extracted, as it's not secreted."_

Riku stormed out of the White Room and strode across to Diz's room, nothing else but clarity and purpose in his mind. Naminé had to run to keep up with him, completely taken aback by his sudden activity. Not bothering to knock this time, he went inside. Diz put his pen down and looked at him expectantly.

"Have you heard of the Berra tree?" Riku asked. Diz clasped his hands together and placed them on the table in front of him.

"I have."

"Do you know how to extract the pollen from it?"

"In theory. I have never attempted it."

"No, Riku..." Naminé said, but he ignored her.

"I want you to do it."

Diz was silent for a while. When he spoke, it sounded like his words had been carefully weighed.

"I...assume you know its effects."

"It'll repel the light from my body, yeah."

"And, knowing that, you're still willing to proceed?" His voice sounded genuinely surprised, but held an admiration Riku had never thought would be aimed at him. He nodded his affirmation.

"Right," Diz replied. "It will take me a few days to prepare. I suggest that you increase your training. The process is meant to be very taxing on a human body."

"Riku," Naminé repeated, but was once again ignored.

"I'll be in the lab if you need me," he said.

"You are excused."

Riku walked out of the room, Naminé fast on his trail.

"Riku!" she yelled. "Riku, listen to me!"

"It's done, Naminé," he replied. "You can't make me change my mind on this."

Naminé grabbed his jacket firmly, grinding him to a halt. He turned and looked at her. She was furious; blue eyes set like cold sapphires.

"You are not doing this to yourself," she said slowly.

"Naminé," he said, walking away from her and down into the lab. She followed him relentlessly. He sighed, annoyed by her efforts, angry that she couldn't just let him do what he needed to do to save his friend, and her. "Don't act like such a-"

"No!" she yelled at him. "Don't you think that nobody will care if you leave, if you get hurt? Stop thinking you're going to affect nobody! Don't do it!"

"I have to!" he yelled back. "Sora needs Roxas. I can beat him with this, and you know I can too!"

"Sora wouldn't want you to surrender to darkness. Neither do I! We'll find another way, Riku. There has to be another way..."

"There isn't!"

"There _HAS _to!" she practically screeched. Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes and fell shamelessly down her cheeks. "Do you know what will happen? Your body will take on the form of darkness that possesses you. You'll become Ansem!"

Riku froze in shock. The thought seemed to crawl all over his body and tighten his organs, suffocating him. Ansem; the one person who had ever gained complete control over him, the one person who could still ignite his irrational, childish fears and haunt his dreams. Somewhere deep inside his body he could almost hear his enemy laughing at the irony of it all.

He curled his fist and took a deep breath. It was the only way. It was for Sora....

"If it will make Sora better, Naminé, then I'm going to do it."

"It's not your mistake to fix, Riku. It's mine; I made Sora this way. Only I can fix it. I'll take it, I'll become darkness."

"You can't. You won't be powerful enough. Don't you see it, Naminé? It has to be me."

"I'm plenty powerful!" she argued. "I can draw, I can make things happen. I can do it!"

"It can't be you, alright?" Riku gripped her shoulders and shook her hard. "Think, Naminé! Look what it would do to you!"

"Look what it would do to you!"

"I won't allow it!" he yelled.

"And why the hell not?" she barked.

Both of them were plunged into a hot, ferocious silence, broken only by the dull, rhythmic bleeping of the machines in the background. They stared at one another, each unwilling to back down in what was probably the most important argument of their life.

Riku was resolute in his decision. He knew the consequences of it and was willing to accept them. Naminé was being ridiculous. She couldn't fight Roxas. He was too fast, too powerful. She would only get hurt, and that was the best scenario. Riku was well aware of his limits, and if he could only embrace that darkness he could...no, he _would_ be able to capture Roxas successfully. Of course, he could never turn back from this, but if it would get Sora to wake up, and it would keep Naminé safe, then he had no problem doing it. A small sacrifice, that's all it really was in the grand scale of things. No matter what his own needs were, Sora was the Keyblade master. He mattered much more than Riku knew he would ever matter. Naminé would have to understand. Besides, if anything did happen to him, he knew Sora could take care of her.

It was then he focused his attention back to Naminé. She was looking at him pleadingly, trying to find a way to get through to him, lead him away from what could very well be suicide. She looked so vulnerable, so fragile then. All he wanted was for her to be okay. He didn't want her to have to worry anymore. He would make sure of it.

That was it. With those thoughts, his last wall fell, and there were no barriers left between them. Riku pulled Naminé to him and pressed his lips against hers, eliciting a faint noise of surprise and confusion from the passionate gesture. Surprised though she was, her protest didn't last long. Riku's hand curled into her hair, pushing them closer while Naminé circled her hands around his neck. Electricity crackled between their bodies; creating an energy neither could see but couldn't possibly ignore any longer.

Riku's hands slid down from Naminé's hair and trailed down her back. Her skin tingled from the simple action, and slowly they moved back together until she was pressed against the wall of the lab. The eerie, blue-white light from the tubes gave their skin a silvery, moonlit glow, which only seemed to increase the ambiance of passion that swirled between them.

Naminé briefly wondered about the strange feeling welling inside her. It was unlike anything she had ever experienced, and it did not seem like something a nobody could feel. What was happening to her? Was it just a reaction from her real self? The question fell away when Naminé felt a trail of hungry kisses on her collar-bone, and became lost in sensation. Her blue eyes slowly closed...

A polite cough sounded from behind them. Both lovers sprang apart as if electrocuted. Though what they were doing was perfectly acceptable, there was nonetheless an air of guilt hanging between them as a result of their unexpected tryst. Especially when seen by the eyes of Diz.

"I came in to view the status of Sora's vitals," he explained. "But apparently I was meant to see much more than that."

Neither said anything while Diz busied himself around the lab, checking monitors, adjusting dials and making changes to a small few programmes. Once finished, he turned and left, but stopped at the door.

"Please," he said. "Feel free to continue your frivolous activities. It's not as if we are trying to acquire a nobody to fix this nuisance of a problem." With that, he disappeared upstairs.

Naminé and Riku stood there for some time, looking everywhere else but each other. Riku scratched the back of his head absently; a trait he had picked up from Sora when he was young, and still couldn't shake. He had noticed it one day when they both let a giant carp get away from them when they were fishing near the island. Trying to laugh it off, Sora and he had both scratched their heads simultaneously, and stopped as they saw the similarity...

"Riku?"

Jolted back to reality, Riku was forced to turn his attention to Naminé.

"What was that?" she asked, noticing he was listening to her again.

"I, uh, I don't know," he replied sheepishly.

"Why did you do that?" she pressed.

"Um..." he said, unable to find any words that could in any way convey what he was thinking before he had kissed her.

"Riku," she sighed, folding her arms in front of her chest. She was obviously uncomfortable by what he had just done. "You can't do those kind of things when you feel like it. I don't want you messing with my head like that. It's not fair-"

"I wasn't," he said, almost too quickly. "I mean..." Riku put his hand to his forehead in exasperation. "It's not like that, okay?"

"Okay then," she replied, putting her hands on her hips. "What exactly is it like then?"

"What the hell do you mean by that?" he asked, his cheeks turning decidedly scarlet. "I think you're..."

Naminé noticed how uncomfortable he was. Part of her was laughing inside at his inability to voice his feelings. She bit her lip distractedly, still savouring the lingering sensation of his lips against hers. He liked her, and his discomfort and squirming proved it. Their argument was long ago forgotten; faded into the background. This feeling, this present, was far more important than what lay ahead.

"Is this," she said slowly. "Is this real?"

Riku reached out his hand to her hesitantly. Naminé, her question answered, reached out and took it. They smiled shyly at each other as they went upstairs, clasped hands swaying contentedly as they walked.

* * *

_**Author's notes:**_

_**Well, this update comes so quickly to keep my little friend Pan company while he's away. Miss ya buddy, can't wait till you're back!**_

_**On another note, OMG IT FINALLY GOT THERE. *collapses from utter exhaustion at the fact it took 40-something thousand words for them to reach this point* The whole never again thing is coming to mind, but, I love romance, so I'd probably do it again in a heartbeat! The latter part of this scene has been written for a long time now, and I'm so glad to finally be able to share it with you. To those who have been waiting for this long for it to actually happen, thank you for your patience, and now that they're together, I would like to try some more intimate/affectionate scenes that I have been unable to do as of yet for obvious reasons. We'll see how it pans out I guess. A lot of the next chapters will be pretty off the bat, no planning necessary!**_

_**Thank you for your lovely reviews; as always I adore reading them and I hope you all got your replies. And thank you, everyone, for reading.**_

**_EDIT: Fixed little typo. Thank you SoulEaterDark for the heads up!_**


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

_This is all I want.  
__It's all I ever wanted.__  
Please...  
Let tomorrow never come._

The morning sun had not yet broken when Naminé awoke; instead, her bleary eyes opened to an inky darkness. Though she could not make out the black, blurry shapes of the room, she soon realised that it wasn't her own. Her disorientated mind wondered briefly where she was, until she felt the warmth of Riku's body behind her. His sleeping breath gently sighed against her neck, resulting in a slight tickling sensation that gave her contented shivers all over. His hand was draped over Naminé's stomach and seemed to be almost pulling her into him. She smiled to herself. Even when Riku was sleeping he could be very protective.

So much had happened in the last day, so much that she could hardly believe it could even be true. And yet, his very presence was an affirmation of all that. She had wanted this for so long. Ever since she had met Riku, she had been struck by his abilities, his strength, and especially his unending devotion and loyalty to the people he cared about. Naminé had so desperately wanted to be one of those people. To actually be in that place was such a privilege, and to be even more than a friend was the closest thing to bliss she could possibly get. She was never going to take him for granted again; she knew how lonely life could be without him by her side.

Naminé turned around to face him, and realised that he was awake and watching her silently. They smiled at each other, both unused to this kind of intimate contact but enjoying the new excitement it brought.

"Good morning," he murmured, leaning forward to place a kiss on her forehead. Naminé blushed as he did it, and snuggled into his embrace.

"Did you sleep okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," she replied, and let her head lie on his chest. In her ear she heard the sound of his strong, regular heartbeat, and remembered when she had first heard it while they had been on the road together. She couldn't help but think about how different the circumstances were now. "It's really great waking up to you."

Riku nodded, wrapping his arms around her slender frame and pulling her close. He loved the feel of her skin; so soft against his calloused, battle-worn hands. It was like she cleansed him of any needless or bad thoughts, and instead filled his world with different, numerous sensations, each one reminding him of her beautiful qualities and nature.

"It's morning," she said off-handedly, though he knew as much as she did what time it was.

"Yeah," he answered. "That's why I said good morning. If it had been evening I would have said good evening." Naminé stuck her tongue out at him but couldn't hold her feigned irritancy.

"I don't want to get up," she moaned, half laughing at his reply. Riku chuckled with her, smoothing away several stray strands of hair back from her face. Naminé made a little hum of contentment, almost as if to tell him that that was much better.

"We have to get up, don't we?" she murmured lazily

"No," he replied, shaking his head with a smile.

"But, Mickey and Diz might come in looking for us."

"And they can walk right back out," he replied, almost insanely rationally.

"Don't you think they'd mind?" she asked, surprised that Riku could give her such a blasé answer. It wasn't like him. Usually, it was everyone else's thoughts that were on his mind.

"It's not like what we're doing is wrong or forbidden," he said with a shrug. "If you want to spend some time here with me today, you're more than welcome to."

Naminé lay her hand on Riku's abdomen and let her fingers walk gently up his chest, before reaching his head to tap his nose ever so lightly. Riku scrunched up his face as she did it, and Naminé couldn't help but fall into a fit of giggles upon seeing his expression.

"You look really silly when you do that," she said, waving her hands in front of his eyes in an attempt to make him do it again. Riku brought his own hand down and covered her face. Naminé let out a small scream of surprise.

"Riku!" she exclaimed, slapping it away as if it were a bee causing a nuisance.

"Don't you like my caring nature?" he asked innocently.

"Yeah, yeah, you're better than Mother Earth," came her sarcastic response. "Now get off!"

"Fine," he replied, giving her a wry grin, and stood up from the bed. Naminé, instantly missing her new favourite pillow, caught his wrist and pulled him back onto the soft mattress.

"Don't go," she whined. "Come on, stay for another while." Riku sat over her, and let his hands fall astride her body. He leaned down until his face was inches from hers; his silver hair had become so long that it fell down either side of his face, and strands of it brushed softly against her cheeks.

"I thought you wanted me to get off," he said, his tone teasing.

"Yeah..." she replied. "But I didn't want you to leave..."

They smiled at each other, happily savouring the precious time they had together. Naminé knew that the future was uncertain; even as they lay here, Diz was working away on extracting that....poison. She couldn't think of it as anything else. What if Riku changed completely? What if he forgot everything that made him who he was? Would they ever be able to go back to having times like this? She didn't care if his outward appearance changed, but she needed the thoughts and the memories that made up the Riku she loved. She hoped the darkness wouldn't take that away from her. If it did, she didn't know what she would do. Even imagining the thought filled her with an aching despair, one so great it threatened to consume her completely.

"Hey, are you alright?"

Naminé was brought back from her thoughtful stupor to see Riku's face, looking concerned. A part of her admonished herself for thinking those thoughts. Riku was strong; a lot stronger than she gave him credit for. If there was anyone who could retain their sense of self after banishing light from their bodies, it would be Riku. He could very well be perfectly fine afterwards.

And yet, the seed of doubt had been planted. No matter how many times she assured herself that wouldn't happen, the possibility remained that she could lose him, either to darkness or in the truest sense of the word. But, looking into his anxious eyes, Naminé realised that those thoughts were for another day.

"Yeah," she replied, pasting a bright demeanour onto her face to hide what was unsettling her.

"You sure? I'm not making you uncomfortable or anything, am I?"

"No, no," she said quickly. "I promise, you're great."

Riku's eyes flooded with relief. "I'm glad," he replied. "You bite down on your lower lip when you're thinking about something really important. I just got a bit worried, that's all. I don't want you to feel like you have to do anything for me, okay?"

Naminé laughed. "I never noticed that I did that!"

"Do you want to know something?" he asked, letting his hand travel both slowly and soothingly along her shoulder. Words failing her, Naminé nodded, and reached out her own hand to cusp his cheek. He had not yet shaved, and she could feel the light friction of his emerging stubble. It was amazing to think that he could have skin that rough, especially when she could feel the contrasting softness of his silver hair. Nevertheless, she found herself loving it all.

"You look really beautiful," he said. Naminé blushed furiously at his comment, but as his lips lowered towards hers, the shyness began to fade away, because for the first time, she knew what he said was nothing but the absolute truth.

* * *

_**Author's Notes:**_

_**This chapter is a bit shorter than what I do usually, but I'm not going to protract it for the sake of a word count. So, even if it not as much as you were expecting, I hope you enjoyed it. I love love love love love being able to do Namiku moments like this....ah, the romantic in me will soon be unleashed on the world!**_

_**I thought of something interesting...do you think Riku would have a silver beard?? Something to mull over...**_

_**Thank you all very much for reading!**_

_**LastCetra.**_


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

Hayner, Pence and Olette were playing cards in the Usual Spot when Riku and Naminé arrived, hand in hand. None of them looked up from their cards, too engrossed in their game and afraid that any slight distraction might result in one of the others taking a peek at what they had in their hands.

"Hold on," Olette said, holding out her index finger while she kept her cards close to her chest. The boys grunted in agreement. Olette put down some munny on the table and sat back in her chair triumphantly.

"Try to beat this one, guys!" she said happily. "I'm going to wipe the floor with you with the cards I have!"

"Um, everyone?" Riku piped up. "Nami and I have something we want to tell you-"

"Not now!" Hayner interrupted in frustration, peering at Olette's face closely to see if she was actually telling the truth. "This is an important game!"

Riku and Naminé looked at each other in amusement and shrugged helplessly.

"Okay...okay," Hayner muttered. "I think you're bluffing, so I'll raise you by three munny."

"Call," Pence said.

"I'll see that," Olette replied, throwing her munny in. "and I'll raise you another two."

"Call," Pence said again.

"I'll raise you one after that!" Hayner retorted.

"And I'll raise you another four!" she said with a grin.

"Oh yeah?" Hayner replied. "Well, I'll raise you..." He looked at his stack and realised he had no munny left. "Fine," he mumbled. "I'll call."

"Call," Pence said, throwing in some more.

"Guys?" Naminé said, hoping they might take more notice if she were the one to speak.

"NOT NOW!" Hayner and Olette yelled simultaneously.

"Okay, let's see those cards so I can see my munny," Olette said.

"Two tens," Hayner said with a smirk, one which was returned by Olette to his utmost horror.

"Royal Flush," she said, letting her cards fan out slowly on the table. "Oh, munny, how I do love thee..." She made for the pot in the centre, but Pence's hand stopped her.

"Wait," he said, and pointed to his cards on the table. Olette looked at them in shock.

"No way..." she replied.

"Thank you," he said sweetly, and took the pot from underneath her hands with a wink.

"Do you want to talk to us now?" Riku asked with a grin.

"Well, since Hayner and I have no munny for the next three months we might as well hear it," she replied, waving her hand dismissively. "What's up?"

Riku and Naminé looked at each other with a smile, then nodded towards their intertwined hands. All three of them looked down at it in stunned silence for several seconds until the meaning of it finally dawned on them. Hayner, Pence and Olette started cheering and clapping enthusiastically.

"Finally!" she said, leaping up to give Naminé a hug. "It took you long enough!"

"Yeah," Hayner agreed with a firm nod. "It really was about time, you guys were going around in circles for aaaaaaaaaaages." He stopped, and turned to Pence.

"Which reminds me," he said, stretching out his hands. "Pence..."

Pence looked at the big pot of munny wistfully before handing it over.

* * *

It was after an hour after lunch, and Naminé and Riku were still sitting together at the kitchen table. Their empty plates lay discarded at the sink; Naminé promised she'd 'get down to them in a minute'. Riku smiled, thinking how long this minute had lasted, but somehow, he didn't want it any other way.

"I still can't believe the looks on their faces," Naminé giggled quietly. "That was the best idea ever."

"The guys kept annoying me about you all the time," he admitted. Taking a deep breath, he stuck his chest out. '"Riku, would you ever get a pair and ask her!'"

Naminé laughed heartily, poking his chest until he exhaled. "That's a brilliant Hayner," she replied. "But you know, you never asked me, you just attacked me in the lab instead."

"You liked it," he countered slyly.

"You betcha," she said, giving him a wink. "And for some reason I think you want to do it again…"

Riku grinned and leaned in to kiss her, but Mickey walked into the room before he could complete his little ambush on Naminé. She stood up quickly, almost hitting Riku's chin as she did so. He leaned back in his chair, disappointed at Mickey's intrusion.

"Your Majesty!" she said, picking up Riku's habit of addressing the mouse so formally. "Do you need me to pick up something for you?"

"That's okay, Naminé," he replied. "I'm not here because of that. I'd just like a chat with Riku, if you don't mind."

"What can I do for you?" Riku asked.

"Let's talk outside," Mickey answered, somewhat enigmatically, and walked out the door again. Riku gave him a puzzled look but complied, giving Naminé a quick kiss on the top of her hair before joining him. The King opened the main door to the mansion and they walked out into the lush garden. It was a beautiful day, and Riku immediately put up his hand to shield his eyes from the direct sunlight until they had some time to adjust.

"I heard what you are planning to do," Mickey said, leading him to the middle of the open lawn. There were less insects around this area, the vast majority preferring the multitude of flowers and bushes that lined the perimeter. He stopped at a statue; one that was shaped in the style of a woman holding an urn of water in clothes that seemed vaguely similar to those of the Coliseum world. Beyond it, to his left, several birds were drinking water from the fountain. Riku didn't reply, knowing that anything he was going to say would only aggravate the situation and deepen his friend's disapproval.

"I'm telling you now, Riku," he continued. "This is something that is not going to happen."

"I'm sorry," he replied with a shrug. "But that's not your decision to make."

"You're sixteen, and I'm not going to let a kid like you go and mess up your life. I'm going to find Roxas myself and subdue him."

"Your Majesty-"

"I want none of it!"

"You can't stop me," Riku replied. "This is something that must be done."

A golden Keyblade appeared in Mickey's hand, which he pointed at his friend. "You are _not_ doing this, even if I have to stop you myself. You could die, Riku. I'd rather hurt you to keep you safe than let you give in to darkness!"

"If it was Minnie in that pod instead of Sora you'd be doing the same thing as I am!" Riku argued.

"Don't ever assume what I'd do or wouldn't do," Mickey said, his voice low like thunder. "You haven't earned the right."

"I'm sorry," he repeated. "But that's Sora in there."

"It's also Goofy and Donald too, or have you forgotten? They're my friends, Riku, just like you are, and I'm not letting you take that risk, not when the price is too high. Now, stand down."

Riku spread his arms apart, giving Mickey a perfect target. "Your Majesty," he said, shaking his head slowly. "I'm not going to fight you."

Mickey smiled. "Thank you. I didn't want to have to do it either. I'll start preparing for my departure-"

"You misunderstand," he interrupted. "I'm still doing this. I'm just not going to fight you. Too many of my friends have been hurt. I don't want you to be another one."

The mouse raised his Keyblade again, and fixed a firm fighting stance. "Riku, please….don't make me do this."

"I need darkness to defeat Roxas," he answered, clenching his fists at his sides. "Without it, I'm useless."

"It can be a last resort," Mickey countered. "If I lose, you can try it, otherwise, I'm not going to let you throw your life away on what could very well be a pipe dream!"

"What if you _do_ lose?" Riku replied. He was surprised at how calm his voice was, even though his mind was screaming at him to settle this with his sword. "And then, I try it, and my mind goes…and I'm taken by darkness-" His voice caught upon remembering the those days where Ansem had a firm control of his heart, when he had only been a puppet to be used to fulfil the dark ambitions of his puppet-master. His mind had been so tightly enveloped in darkness that often it was impossible to see the light. It took everything he had to crawl free from that prison, and it took every ounce of discipline he possessed not to give in to the fear that had been left behind in his heart since.

"Who'll get Sora to wake up then?" he asked. "Diz? Don't make me laugh. He'll just make Naminé go after him, and then we'll all be dead!"

"Riku-"

"You need to be the last line of defence, Mickey, otherwise we're not going to win anything!"

The flock of birds at the fountain, startled by the sudden outburst, flew away quickly over the mansion. Both males remained though, locked in a battle that needed no clash of metal. Mickey stared at Riku for a long time with an icy glare that the boy knew he would probably never see again.

"Look," he sighed. "I-"

"You really love her, don't you?"

That one took him by surprise. Words failed him, and he didn't know how to answer. Mickey rolled his eyes.

"I'm not an idiot, Riku," he said shortly. "Don't forget Diz saw you two together also. This most definitely isn't just about Sora anymore."

"So what?" he replied defensively. "It doesn't change anything."

Mickey let out a rueful laugh. "I forget that you're young sometimes."

Again, Riku found himself not knowing how to reply. His gaze drifted back to the mansion; following the lines of ivy that grew on the walls to where it led to the upstairs rooms. A shadow moved briefly behind the curtain of the white room, and he knew that Naminé was inside. She was probably settling down to do some drawing; he bet that she thought there was nothing to fear when he and Mickey were together. Somehow he almost found that irony pathetically amusing.

"It seems," he said, slowly. "It seems that everyone I care about is connected to Roxas. I need to make sure that nothing happens to them. Roxas is my responsibility, your Majesty, and I know, deep down, that only I can finish this. I need you to trust me, if only this once." Riku let his aquamarine eyes close.

"But, if you're going to do it, then get it over with."

Riku stood there for a good while, bracing himself for the blow. His clenched fists curled together tighter and tighter until he couldn't bear it any longer. When he finally opened his eyes, he found that the mouse had left him alone in the garden.

* * *

_**Author's notes**_

_**This was a complete loose-ends chapter, so sorry if it was annoying or anything. This took so long to get out because basically, I was being too lazy to do it. I was actually surprised with myself that I hadn't written anything in the last month, but I had work, and a few addictions (battlestar galactica mainly) to get through. I've the rest of the fic pretty much done except for the beginning of the next chapter, and the beginning of the chapter before the epilogue. Speaking of which, since I've been guessing at how many chapters I had left for the last two years, and now I can safely say that there are three left, and an epilogue, so things are getting into the last stage. Hard to believe, isn't it?**_

I'm going to update once a week now until I'm finished. That should give me the time I need to fill in any gaps I have, while also allowing for my laziness, ha ha.

Well, thank you all for your lovely reviews, and thank you to everyone else for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. 


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

The day they had all been dreading had finally arrived, and Diz, Mickey, Naminé and Riku had all gathered together in the lab. Diz was putting some final additives to the concoction, and the other three stood around silently, waiting for him to finish. No one knew what to say. Riku was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. He moved his gaze to where Naminé was shifting uncomfortably at the other side, holding her sketchbook in her hands. She couldn't bring herself to meet his eyes.

Riku looked to Mickey. The mouse was trying to smile, but was failing disastrously, and all he could see was the grim expression behind his cheery façade.

"I hope you know what you're doing," he said softly.

"That makes two of us then," Riku replied.

"What if-"

"We'll cross that bridge when it comes."

"Come here," he said, holding out his arms to him. Riku accepted his hug, having to go down on one knee to reach him.

"Sora can never know about this, okay?" Riku whispered in his ear. "Please, don't tell him."

"I won't."

"Not a word?" he asked.

"Not a word," Mickey promised, patting him on the back.

"Thank you." With that, Riku stood up and walked towards Naminé. She still couldn't face him.

"Hey," he murmured, raising her chin with his hand to look at him. Her eyes were begging him not to continue. Tears threatened to spill down her cheeks, which she fought by clutching her sketchbook even tighter to her chest.

"Naminé, I-" he started.

"Don't," she said firmly. "I'm not saying goodbye."

"But-"

"I swear to Mushu, Riku, if you even start…"

Despite the grim situation, he couldn't help but smile, and before they knew what they were doing, they were laughing hysterically.

"This isn't a joke, Riku," Diz said immediately.

"I know," he laughed, wiping the tears from his eyes. "I guess, I guess I'm just a little nervous, that's all."

Naminé reached for him and they held each other closely. She noticed that there was something different about his embrace, almost as if he wasn't really with her. It was only then she realised how terrified he must be, though his pride would never allow him to disclose a fear as big as that, even to her.

"I'm right here," she said. "Talk to me."

"If something goes wrong, Naminé, you have to seal my memories off. Every one."

"It's not going to come to that."

"But if it does-"

"I know," she whispered. "I know. Don't forget me, okay?"

"Hey, you said it yourself; my heart will always remember. I could never forget you, not after all we've had."

Naminé did not reply, but chose instead to kiss him. As their mouths met, she tried her best to categorise every touch, every taste, every sensation that made up the man she loved, because she knew that after this was finished, she might not have him anymore. As clichéd as it sounded, Naminé couldn't help but think that she wanted this moment to last forever.

Riku pulled away, and Naminé nodded silently. There was no need to say anything more, and as she had previously said, she wasn't going to entertain words of farewells. She let his hands slip softly from her own as he moved over to where Diz stood.

"I'm not going to lie," the scientist said in a flat tone. "This is going to hurt somewhat." Riku looked at the oozing black liquid intently, fear at last starting to get to him. Beside its colour, the vial that was going to completely change his life held no signs of malicious intent. In fact, the whole thing looked quite ordinary. His mind assumed it would spit and hiss and would be so acidic that it would have to be kept in a steel container that was many inches thick. No, this was strangely anti-climatic, and he wondered why. Maybe he had seen too many films or something.

"Let me see," he said, reaching out to take the vial from Diz's hand.

"Be careful," he replied, reluctant to hand it over. "This took me six days to prepare. I do not want to have to do it again."

Riku held it cautiously in his hands and took his time examining its contents. The whole world seemed to fall away from him as he did so, becoming as important as a discarded tissue. The only thought that could occupy his mind was that smooth, almost gentle weight from the glass vial. How could something that small be that powerful? Would he lose himself completely? Doubts crawled into his head; nibbling away at his certainty until it had become a weak voice pleading to be heard amongst a city of crowded people. In the last year, he had made a lot of bad choices. Was this another one? Was it even the right decision at all?

It was as if on that thought a memory of Naminé popped into his head. It was from the time they had been clothes shopping, and she had picked out the ensemble he was now wearing, which seemed like years ago now. She had barged in to the changing room as he was getting dressed, and he had flattened himself against the wall so she could fit in the small cubicle.

_"Niiiiiiiiice," she said, looking him up and down before giving him a wink. Riku noted that this was becoming a common trait of hers, but in saying that, it suited her completely. "Do I know how to pick clothes, or do I know how to pick clothes?"_

_"Um, you know how to pick clothes," he replied uncomfortably, shrinking back as far as he could into the corner to create some semblance of personal space. "Naminé, this is a changing-"_

_"No need to thank me," she interrupted, waving her hand in dismissal. "It's what I do best!" She flashed him a big, toothy smile, one that could easily outshine Sora's. He realised that the two of them were remarkably alike at times, which gave him a great feeling of security for some reason._

_"Something's not right though," she mused, letting her chin rest pensively on her hand. A red tinge flushed Riku's cheeks as she examined him. He was not used to people staring at him so intently, but when it was her doing it, something in his stomach churned happily from the attention._

_"I know!" she proclaimed suddenly, her eyes lighting up as the thought hit her. "Your gloves. Take them off."_

_"What, these?" he replied, crossing his arms so they folded over his hands, hiding them from view. "No way."_

_"Yes way," she insisted, pulling at his arms to get them free._

_"I, uh, have had them for years," he said weakly, his last attempt to get out of it. Naminé, however, was not going to bow to his wishes that easily._

_"Then let go, Riku. Give your hands some air, and more importantly, some sunlight!"_

_Riku looked at his gloves wistfully, and after several seconds of thought, he stretched them out towards Naminé. Smiling, she took them off, and gave him a pat on the head._

_"Good boy," she said, skipping outside. "I saw the greatest blue ones too, and they're even better because they're fingerless-" Noticing his sombre expression, she came back to him._

_"Hey, are you alright?"_

_"Y-yeah," he replied with a feigned enthusiasm, "It's just...." He paused, then let his words trail off. "It's nothing."_

_But it wasn't. Sora had given him those gloves two years ago as a birthday present, and loathe though he was to admit it, he didn't want to part with them just yet. _

_Naminé handed the gloves back to him. Surprised, but at the same time wondering if it was a trick, he took them gingerly._

_"I guess if you like them _that_ much, we'll have to find you something to match." Riku smiled gratefully upon hearing her words, and nodded his thanks._

_"But!" she continued, wagging her index finger at him. "I love these clothes, so you're getting them, AND, you're getting the blue gloves too."_

_"Okay-"_

_"AND! You're buying the sea-salt ice-cream!"_

_Riku laughed and shook his head. "Aye, you drive a hard bargain, Missy."_

_"You're not a pirate, and you're not in Port Royal," she joked, shoving him playfully. "But I'll take that as a yes then."_

Naminé...Thoughts of her strengthened his resolve. If he didn't fight, she would have to. He wanted her to keep smiling like that, he wanted to protect her, no, he _needed _to protect her. If anything were to happen to her, it would be too much for him to take. So, he would do everything to keep her from harm, even if it meant his own happiness would be compromised. With a nod to himself, he handed the vial back to Diz.

"Let's get this over with," he said. "There's no point in drawing it out, is there?"

"Are you sure?" Diz asked. "This is a violent and dangerous process, and one you will not be able to reverse. If you chose to back out now, no one here would resent you for it."

Riku looked to Mickey and Naminé. Though both had their protests, they remained silent. Everything had been said too many times already, and even if they said it again, it wasn't going to make any difference. He nodded his thanks to both of them and turned back to Diz.

"Go ahead," he replied. "I'm sure." Diz nodded and retrieved another ingredient which he added to the concoction.

"This is a leaf from the Berra mixed with a lucid shard dropped by Heartless," he explained, though everyone knew such elucidations were pointless at this stage. "The lucid shard should help you keep your mind, though I cannot guarantee it." He handed the vial back without further commentary.

"Thanks," Riku said. "I guess, I'll see you all on the other side." With that, he knocked the liquid back down his throat.

* * *

_**Author's Note**_

_**Well, I promised I would update once a week, and that seems to have gone astray, so as a little gift for waiting ever so patiently….**_


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

Everything was dark. That shouldn't have surprised him, but for some reason it did. He seemed to be lying on something hard, but it was difficult to tell; the darkness was so thick it was impossible to discern anything at all. Slowly, Riku brought himself to his feet and looked around, but there was nothing to see.

"Hello?" he called, knowing in the back of his mind that that was the worst thing he could ever do. If there were Heartless around, he would be attacked almost instantly. However, nothing answered.

"Guess I should start walking," he muttered to himself, before setting off in the direction he was facing. He wondered where he was. The scenery was uncannily similar to the place Naminé and he had walked in their first week together, but there was no road to mark the way. How did he get here? All he could remember was drinking that liquid in the lab, but after that, it was like he had fallen unconscious. What had happened? Was everyone okay? Was Naminé okay?

A bright figure emerged from the darkness in the distance. Looking down at his hands, he saw that his body was also emanating a light, though it was faint in comparison with the one before him. This person had a much more powerful light force within them, though, almost like they were composed of the substance itself. Riku covered his eyes to shield them from the harsh glare. Squinting, he peered through the light to make out who it was. Why was light still with him at all? It should have been gone by now. Had the experiment failed?

"Hey, Riku," an all too familiar voice said. "We've been looking everywhere for you. What are you doing here?"

"Kairi?" he replied. She nodded, and laced her hands together behind her back.

"Who else?" she replied with a smile.

"What's going on?" he asked. "Why are you here?"

"Riku, you're scaring me," she said, her eyebrows knitting together in confusion. "I thought when you came home we would all go back to a normal life, but why are you saying these things? Why did you come out to a place like this? Are you still that hungry for darkness?"

"I-" he said, his voice catching in his throat. "I haven't been home in two years, Kairi."

"Riku, what's happened? Why are you-" She stopped. "What's the last thing you remember?"

"The Berra tree," he replied. "The extract..."

"Oh," she said with a nod. "Sora told me about that."

"Sora? Sora's awake?"

"Riku, let's sit down," she said with a sigh. "I guess I need to fill you in on a lot of things."

* * *

"Any change?"

Naminé looked up to see Diz at the door to Riku's room. She was sitting beside his bed, her hand holding his tightly. She turned back to where he was lying and shook her head before answering.

"No. He's still the same."

"Right," he replied, and left just as quickly as he had entered.

* * *

"The Berra didn't work," Kairi explained, once they had sat down on the floor. "I don't know the specifics, but there was a problem I think because your light and darkness were so heavily entwined. Because they couldn't separate, it couldn't be expelled. So, you and Mickey went after Roxas together, and you got him. It only took a week to bring Sora around. He was a bit groggy, but otherwise he was okay. You all came back to the island after that..." She laughed, suddenly.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"I don't know," she replied, though the touch of humour hadn't left her voice. "I've said all this to you before, and you've the exact same expression as when I first told you."

"I," he laughed, scratching the back of his head. "Sorry, Kairi, I've just no memory of it at all. When was this?"

"Oh gee," she said pensively, tapping her temple with her index finger in a vain attempt to speed up her thought process. "I'd say it's been about four months now."

"Oh, wow," he said in shock. "That's a pretty huge memory gap."

"Yeah," she agreed with a nod. "But, you look good, you know. You haven't been well the last few weeks, and this is the first time I've seen you with some colour in your face. After what happened with Naminé, I was afraid you wouldn't come round at all..." Kairi winced upon realising what she had said.

"Naminé?" he said. "Naminé, where is she?" Kairi's eyes flicked downwards and she crossed her arms.

"You really don't remember, do you?" she replied quietly. Riku walked towards his friend and gently squeezed her arms. Kairi looked up at him again, but this time, her eyes were stricken with tears. Fear unlike any he had ever imagined closed over his heart. He didn't want to know, but this was one question he knew he needed to ask.

"Kairi, what happened?" She turned her head away and looked to the side, unable to meet his gaze.

"You killed her," she whispered.

* * *

"Diz!" Naminé shouted. "Diz, something's happening!" Diz ran into the room, where Riku had begun to convulse violently.

"Damn it," he said angrily. "Mickey!" he bellowed. "Get in here! Naminé, hold his legs down and try to keep him steady. His body is starting to reject the light, but his mind can't cope with the pressure."

Mickey came in, and with a nod towards Diz, held Riku firmly.

"What?" Naminé shouted. "What's going to happen to Riku?"

Diz didn't reply, he was too busy rummaging through his bag. Finally plucking out a crystal and a syringe, he walked back to the bed.

"Mickey," he said, letting the crystal plop unceremoniously into a metal container. "Fire. Now." The mouse did as he was told, holding Riku still with one hand and using the other to apply a great amount of heat to the crystal. Diz took the syringe and immediately drew the liquid into it before injecting the substance into Riku's arm.

"Diz!" Naminé repeated sharply. "What's going to happen if his mind cracks?"

"He'll die," he snapped.

* * *

Riku let Kairi's arms fall from his grip. Many thoughts entered his head, but they were so jumbled and chaotic he couldn't put a word to any one of them. It was hard to breathe. Naminé; his friend, his companion, his love...she was gone. The very idea of it seemed to big for him to even comprehend.

"It was an accident," Kairi said immediately, as if somehow that would make it easier than it already was. You see, Riku, I'm Naminé's real self.

"This is a joke," he said with a short, wild laugh. "This, all of this, it's not real. You're not the real Kairi. What have you done with Naminé?"

"Riku, I'm sorry!" she exclaimed. "I saw the way you talked about her, and I was so, so happy that you had found someone who made you feel good about yourself. Trust me, I didn't _want_ her to return to me, I swear I didn't!"

"No, no, no..." he replied, walking rapidly away from her. The light that illuminated him was beginning to flicker sharply, like a candle struggling to survive in a soft, cold breeze. "This is my mind; it's the Berra just enacting my worst fear."

"We thought you were getting better, Riku," she said quietly. "After it happened, you wouldn't go out for weeks. You just shut yourself away. Sora, Tidus, Selphie, Wakka...all of us on the island tried to get you to come out with us, but you wouldn't have it. Then, a few days ago, you went back to school. You spent the whole day joking and laughing, we thought you were trying to put it behind you."

Kairi folded her arms and bowed her head. For some reason, it looked like she had the weight of all the worlds on her shoulders. "Then, yesterday, you just disappeared out here? Everyone is looking for you! Do you even know how hard we've been trying, Riku? We're all so tired, and there's no way in hell we can make the pain go away or lift the guilt, but we're doing the best we can!"

Riku didn't know what to say. It was Kairi, plain and simple. Her voice, gestures, her compassion, even her scent was exactly the same. No, it wasn't Kairi that was the lie....

Naminé...he couldn't understand it. He had just woken up. She had been here, talking and laughing with him only yesterday. There was no way she could have just...disappeared.

But that was the kicker, wasn't it? _His _yesterday was over four months ago now. With that thought Riku sank to his knees.

"How?" he said finally, and even that word took considerable effort to utter. His voice sounded dry, strange.

"Maybe," Kairi replied, hesitant to answer his question. "Maybe, since you've forgotten, it might be best if-"

"How?" he repeated, this time more clearly and more resolutely than the last time.

"It was..." she said reluctantly. "It was about two weeks after you had come back to the island. You had brought her with you, but I hadn't seen her yet; you had only been out with Sora till then. You kept telling her that you wanted to meet me, but she said it wasn't a good idea. She tried to put it off for as long as she could, but you were very insistent about it..."

Riku didn't need to hear any more. His mind had become completely over-whelmed by what she had just said. Unable to take it anymore, he blacked out.

* * *

"His heart just stopped," Naminé, said alarmingly, leaping to her feet. Diz and Mickey exchanged a serious look, but did nothing. Astounded by their inaction, she ran up to Diz and shook his cloak.

"Didn't you hear me?" she screamed. "Do something!"

"This is part of the process," he replied, plucking her hands from their grip on his clothes. "It's up to Riku now. We've done all that we can."

"No, there had to be something else that we can do to help him," she replied. Panicked, she ran to where his limp body lay and clasped his hand once more.

"Riku," she murmured in his ear. "I'm here, okay? I won't leave you. Riku, I'm not going to leave you. Don't die on me, Riku, please don't die."

* * *

Though darkness had taken a firm hold of his heart and body, Riku's tortured mind remained awake. Something in the distance had woken him up, though it was so soft that he wondered how it could have even disturbed his slumber. Training his ears hard toward the sound, he found he could hear the cool whisper of a voice far away. It was too low to make out the words, but the sound was like sweet music sent to ease his aching soul. Somehow, it reminded him of Naminé. With a sad smile, he let thoughts of her fill his head.

_ "You get to hit people with Styrofoam bats!"_

_ "As long as you have a beating heart it's not true. You exist, you were meant to be in this world."_

_ "Do you want me to kiss it better?" _

_ "Well, all those bandages....it's kind of a turn on..."_

_"But...I'm okay. I guess, that's just the way you are."_

_ "Well, I didn't know Aero. So I thought I should learn."_

_ "And it looks ridiculous. You'd look like a middle-aged man with an identity crisis."_

_"I really did love the time we spent together."_

_ "It's nice to think that if I disappear someday, I'd still be able to see you."_

_ "Don't forget me, okay?"_

He could feel his light seeping out of him; the brightness of his body was beginning to fade away to merge with the darkness around him, but the sweet din of that voice was getting louder and more prominent in his mind. The stronger it got, the more he thought of her, and the more he realised that it was saving him. Yet, somewhere deep in his heart, that revelation did not come as a surprise, because he knew it all along. Naminé had saved him a hundred times over by now. Even just being able to meet her, talk with her, share those moments, those walks...though it had only been a short space of time, her impact on his life had made it worth the pain her loss had brought, because in that way he was sure he had loved her, and it ensured that she would stay with him forever. And with her beautiful memory by his side, he knew she could carry him though everything to come. When he thought about it that way, it wasn't so bad.

* * *

"Something's happening," Mickey said suddenly. Riku's body had begun to glow, and an unstable light force started to pulsate from underneath his skin. It gathered speed with every beat, and then, before anyone had a chance to react, Riku's back arched sharply and the light exploded ferociously from his body, blinding everyone in the room. It took several seconds for the light to fade, and when they looked to Riku again, they found instead the sleeping body of Ansem.

Diz folded his arms, and if one were to remove the mask of bandages covering his face, they would find a smile playing faintly on his lips.

* * *

_**Author's Notes**_

…_**.so, you can have two today! This one in particular is a personal favourite, for the simple fact that it came to me so quickly. I had this idea from about chapter six in the story, so it's good to finally get it up here. I know there are some inconsistencies with how Riku's change came about, and I must admit that it irks me at times to have found the final mix videos on youtube. I would have changed it to fit in more nicely with that release, but I didn't because a) I had my idea already and didn't want to change it, and b) I just couldn't be bothered! **_

_**Thank you everyone for reading, and I hope you enjoyed these chapters!**_


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

The days after the incident were difficult at best. Riku ran a high fever that lasted several days, and it took him ten days to wake up after the transformation. Naminé spent every waking minute with him, leaving only to sleep and attend to other basic bodily demands. It had become an unspoken understanding that she would be the one to tend to Riku, and Diz and Mickey kept a respectful distance while she carried out these duties faithfully.

Naminé remembered the day he had woken up. Riku's body was unfamiliar and prone to infection, so it had taken him a long time to come back into the conscious world. Even then, he had still not fully recovered. Naminé had been cleaning up around the room, and hadn't seen his eyes flutter open.

_"Naminé?" he whispered hoarsely. She looked around sharply, wondering if the sound had been just in her head. Relief and happiness flooded through her when he saw Riku's hand reaching for her own. She walked over and clasped it tightly._

_"I'm here," she said, sitting down beside him. "Take it easy."_

_Riku pulled her down on top of him and folded her into a crushing embrace._

_"H-hey," she laughed, though her tone was kind. "What's gotten into you all of a sudden?"_

_"Is this real?" he rasped, trying to exercise his unused vocal cords. "Are you really here?"_

_"No pulse," she joked. "Guess I'm lucky I never had one."_

It had taken him a long time to let go after that, and she couldn't fully understand why. He had murmured a few things in her ear, but they were only snatches of sentences that she couldn't decipher. It didn't matter though. His outward appearance had changed, but his mind was still his. Not only that, but he had recognised her also. So much had gone wrong for them over the last few months that these two pieces of news were enough to erase all those bad times. Riku was still Riku, and because of that, she could still be his.

* * *

Riku pulled two black gloves out of his bedside locker and slid them onto his hands with a sigh. The adjustment to his new body had been pretty hard. The first time he had seen his face was the evening after his awakening. He had gone to his wardrobe to change into a fresh shirt and saw his image on the mirror hanging inside. Even though he had been warned of what to expect, the reality was truly horrifying. Admittedly, he hadn't prepared himself enough for that shock. It took Mickey and Diz all they could manage to restrain him, and Diz had even had to inject him with a sedative to calm him down.

After that, the days had been similar. Riku was still recovering, and his body was nowhere close to one hundred percent, so all he could do was hang around the mansion, waiting to be better. The others treated him like he was a ticking time bomb. He could see the way they chose their words carefully, and made sure not to do anything that would remotely get on his bad side. Riku was unsure if he even had a good side anymore.

He pulled open the wardrobe door and looked inside. The mirror was cracked in several places and his image was distorted as a result. The breakage had been a result of his first reaction to his new self. He deliberately avoided looking himself now; it only filled him with disgust. He pulled the hood of his robe over his head with a sigh and turned away. He knew he had chosen this, he knew that, but why? Why did it have to be this way? Why did it have to be Ansem? He could feel that man's influence stirring throughout his body, and it deeply unsettled him. The last time he had a taste of the power Ansem possessed, he had lost control of it, and had lost control of himself in the process. He knew things were different now; he knew he could use darkness along with light to his advantage, but that threat remained hanging in the air, scrutinising every move he made, waiting for that one second where he would overindulge in the power darkness brought. It would always remain. When he thought about things that way, it was no small wonder that Diz and the King were being overly cautious.

Naminé was the only one who acted the same. She still visited him, but he didn't have the heart to talk to her. A part of him still couldn't believe that she was alive. In that darkness, he had been so sure, it had been so real…Seeing her, being with her, made him so relieved that she was alive, but something deep in his consciousness clawed at him, telling him that this was going to change. Whenever Riku saw her smiling face, whenever she made a joke to make him feel better, he knew that these moments could never last, and it made him feel so overwhelmed that he felt sick. He thought that in time those feelings might change, but they hadn't. Trying to go pretend that he was the same person now only proved how much of a monster he had become. He couldn't be around her anymore, not like this. He knew he couldn't stay. As much as he hated to admit it, it was time for him to leave. Riku dragged some of the black robes from their hangers. He was putting his things into a suitcase when Naminé knocked on the door.

"Hey," she said softly. A small smile crossed her face, but she was hesitant to show her delight in seeing him. "How are you doing?" Riku moved to step in front of the suitcase, but she noticed before he had successfully blocked it from her view.

"What is this?" she asked, though both of them knew it was a stupid question. Riku sighed, then turned back to the wardrobe. Most of his clothes were useless now; his whole build had changed dramatically since…

"You're not even going to say anything?" Naminé said with a short, disbelieving laugh. Riku looked back at her momentarily and shrugged.

"What's there to say?"

Naminé didn't even know how to reply. Ever since that day, he had become so cold, so distant, as if he were full of the loathing the darkness wanted him to embrace. She had seen him once, maybe twice in the last five days, and even then, he wouldn't even look at her. She knew he needed some time to get used to his new body. Psychologically, she couldn't even begin to understand the effect this could have on him, but she wanted to be there for him, like he had always been there for her. However, it seemed like he was showing no improvement whatsoever. Being in the same room as him now felt more like the time they were walking the alabaster halls of Castle Oblivion.

"So that's it then," she said, somewhat matter-of-factly. She folded her arms in defiance, but its angry impact was somewhat lessened by the tears in her eyes. "You're just going to leave, and we'll act like the last few months just never happened, is that it?"

Which was exactly the opposite of what he wanted, but that was something he could never divulge to her. Things were different now, that much was true at least. The past few days had given him a completely different outlook on his life. When he was in that darkness, he had felt the full force of what it would be to never see Naminé again. The grief had reached such an extent that it had almost led him astray in that abyss. If he had lost his mind, he didn't know what he could have done to her, or any of his friends for that matter. He was Ansem now, the embodiment of all he hated. Though his enemy had only claimed Riku's outward appearance, there was still the chance that Ansem could capture his mind. It would be best for everyone if he were to stay away for the time being.

However, that wasn't the only reason. It wasn't even the main reason why he needed to leave. As much as he wanted to blame Ansem, the real fault lay with himself. He was detrimental to Naminé's survival, and he wondered why it had taken a complete immersion in darkness to see the light on that matter. In that place, his worst fears had been realised. It was highly likely that one of his friends was Naminé's real self. If she met any of them, he could lose her instantly. It would be like pointing a gun to her head every time they walked past a girl he knew. How could he subject her to that pressure, that fear, that worry, _every single day_? It would be torture for her, even if she would never admit it. What possible relationship could they hope to maintain after all this was over? He didn't want her to die, of that much he was absolutely sure. But the fact remained that she could never be safe around him. If it meant he would have to let her go to ensure her well-being, well, he could put his own needs aside to make that happen, because he loved her more than anything else in all the worlds combined.

"I'm not…" he started, though he wondered how he would continue. "I'm not the person I was anymore."

"Riku..." Naminé started, walking rapidly up to him. She didn't know why, but those were the scariest words she had ever heard uttered from his mouth. She reached out her hand and touched his cheek. Riku pulled away instantly, as though her hand were made of fire.

"Don't..." he said. His deep voice felt unfamiliar, ugly. He hated it. "You can't...you shouldn't see me like this, Naminé."

"No!" she shouted. "What about us, Riku? It took us so long to get here; I can't not have you in my life!" She sprung forward, clutching desperately at his robe. Riku wanted to leave, but he stood, frozen.

"I can't go back to being nothing, Riku." Her voice was barely above a whisper. "You make me who I am, without you, I'll be a nobody again. Please..." Naminé's head fell into his chest. Before, they had been similar in height, but Ansem's form made him so tall that she barely reached it.

"Please," she repeated. "Don't leave, don't leave me."

Riku lifted his arms and wrapped them around Naminé's neck, pulling her close. They stood there for a long time, holding each other tightly. Riku felt that if he let her go she would break. And perhaps that was true. Two tears escaped from his eyes, which only made him squeeze her closer, as if doing so might make her a part of him forever.

"I love you so much," he mumbled incoherently into her hair. Naminé, however, understood.

"Stay with me," she begged him. "This doesn't change anything; we knew this was going to happen when you did it!"

Riku let go. Naminé looked up, and seeing the changed expression in his eyes, took a step back and shook her head.

"No," she said, more to herself than to him. "No, Riku, I won't-"

"Naminé," he interrupted. "I'm not Riku anymore. That's the exchange the Berra took. I'm Ansem now."

"Riku..." She began.

"He's dead!" he bellowed. His deep voice made Naminé shudder. Anger flashed across his face. "Riku got lost to darkness! He's dead, Naminé; forget that he ever existed or cared!!"

"Ansem is just your outwardly appearance," she argued fervently. "It doesn't change who you are, who you'll always be to me! _I LOVE YOU, DAMMIT_!!"

Naminé thought for a second that she saw a flash of shock jolt through Riku's now golden eyes, but it was replaced almost instantly by the icy demeanour he was desperately trying to hold on to.

"I can't continue living in your perfect world of romance. It doesn't work that way. Things can't happen the way you want them to."

"Why are you saying these things?" she asked.

"So you have no misconceptions of what I've become."

"This isn't you," she pleaded. "You're not like this."

"This is what Ansem is."

"No, I can't believe you, I won't believe you!! Riku, stop trying to protect yourself!"

"I have nothing more to say to you," he replied, pushing past her. Naminé caught his cloak to stop him. His hood falling back, Riku turned sharply at the tug.

"What happened in that place?" she asked softly. Riku started, fear clouding his eyes. She couldn't know. If she were to ever find out, she would never let him go. So, he did the only thing he could think of doing and pushed her away. Not used to the newfound strength his dark body gave him, Naminé was thrown back. She hit the wardrobe with a dull thud and cried out, though it was more from shock than pain. They stared at each other for a moment in stunned silence, neither of them quite believing what he had just done. It was the first time he had ever been so forceful with her. Riku would have never hit her...

However, as he had said, he was Ansem now. Had she really lost him? Was he really gone?

"I'm sorry," he said finally, pulling his hood over his head once more. Grabbing the suitcase quickly, he turned and walked for the door.

"No, Riku!" she cried, forcing herself to her hands and knees. "Riku!" Tears flowed freely from her eyes and rolled down her cheeks, and she stretched her hand out towards his departing figure in a vain attempt to reach him. Taking no notice of her pleas or tears, he kept walking until he had disappeared from the room. Naminé shook her head. It couldn't be real. It just couldn't be. Riku...

_"RIKU!"_

_

* * *

__**Author's Notes**_

_**I'll have the epilogue up soon. I'll talk more about this chapter once that's up. I bet you're all wondering how this is going to end with a chapter like that! Thank you all so much for all your kind reviews, especially since school and college and work and everything else in between has recommenced this month, I'm really grateful. I hope you got your replies! And thank you so very much for reading.**_

_**LastCetra. **_


	24. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Riku opened the door to the mansion and walked inside. He stopped as he saw the figure who was making her way down the stairs. Her blue eyes glanced up and she froze, mid-step. They stared at each other, both at a loss at what to say.

"Riku," she said, settling on his name, though he had insisted hundreds of times that he was now Ansem. She had imagined this moment for weeks now, since he had left her, and now that he was here, already it wasn't going at all like she had hoped. She pulled her charcoal-grey coat tighter around her body, not knowing what else to do.

"Hi," he said awkwardly, folding his arms, afraid to say her name. He hadn't wanted to see her. Even now, though they were several meters apart, all he wanted to do was rush over to her and feel the sensation of her lips on his, trail his fingers hungrily along her hips and back, and breathe in her natural scent; one that always reminded him of the Paopu fruit on Destiny Island.

"Are you going out?" he asked instead, wishing his feelings away.

"I thought I'd go into the town for a bit," she replied. "Pick up something for dinner, you know. The usual."

"Yeah."

Silence reigned. Naminé wanted him to address what she knew was going to be left unsaid. Standing here was so painful. He was so close to her, and all those over-powering emotions were rushing back to her with his presence. All he had to do was apologise. No, all he had to do was say her name and she would forgive him for everything. The last month had been punishment enough for her.

"You look thin," he commented. "Are you feeling alright?"

"I'm a nobody, Riku. It's not that important to eat."

"Just because you're a nobody doesn't mean you should abstain..."

"Stop it."

Her angry glare shut him up immediately. He bowed his head and nodded solemnly. He didn't have the right to say those sort of things to her. Not anymore. After what he had done, he was surprised she could stand to be in the same room as him.

"You're right. It's not my place."

Naminé clenched her fist and finished walking down the steps. Riku didn't move, but his body was telling him to run a thousand miles before he hurt her again.

"I finally captured Roxas," he said, in a vain attempt to change the subject. "It took me a long time to track him down."

"I know," she replied, leaning against the banister at the bottom of the stairway. "Mickey told me you deposited him in one of the pods when we were all asleep. Just two more days and I should have Sora back to normal."

"That's a relief."

"Are you going to stay around until he wakes up?" she asked.

Riku shook his head slowly. Naminé looked at him questioningly.

"I'll be leaving Twilight Town for good soon."

"You're leaving again?" she said in surprise. "Aren't you even going to look for..." Naminé realised what she was saying and stopped.

"A cure," he finished. "No. I've accepted what I've become. I think it's time you did too."

"You know what I think," Naminé said bluntly. "So there's no point in me repeating myself."

"I guess not."

Naminé straightened herself up and made for the door.

"So, why the hell have you come back?" she muttered angrily. "Rubbing salt in an old wound?" She stormed forward, hitting him forcefully as she passed him.

"Wait!" he exclaimed, grabbing her wrist and pulling her back. They stopped within inches of each other, and Naminé looked into his eyes dumbfounded, her anger gone. Riku's head was swimming with her so close. All he could think was Naminé. It was like she had crawled into his head and removed every other thought besides her name, her touch, her beauty...

"I-" The words couldn't come. Her eyes, pools of endless blue, stared into him, not looking for anything, not wanting anything. If only he could drown in her eyes, he would die a happy man. He loosened his grip on her wrist and let his hand slide under hers, distractedly playing with her palm by squeezing it ever so gently. He was surprised that she let him.

"You know as well as I do that I can't have Sora see me like this," he sighed. His grip on her hand became tighter, almost as if he were holding onto the last thing that had kept him earthed. "The King has some things for me to do, so..."

His hand broke free from hers and he moved it forward, reaching for her cheek. Naminé stood deathly still, fearing that if she moved, it would no longer be real. She feared that it would be another dream she would end up waking from. The dreams themselves weren't the problem, it was the reality that followed. It had been weeks since he had left, and though she was living and going about her almost tedious, diurnal requirements, her life wasn't quite the same. It was...emptier; something similar to her life before she had met him. It wasn't a bad life by any means, it was just a life without Riku.

Somehow, that was one of the saddest realisations she had ever made.

"Riku..." she whispered, closing her eyes, her voice begging for his touch, begging for the sense of relief and safety she always felt when in his arms. Naminé didn't know how, but whenever he was there, the big bad world always took a pleasant vacation, and though it still existed, while he was there, it never mattered. Riku was always the one she wanted to dwell on.

"I'd-" he stammered, his voice distant. Her eyes opened, and found that he had moved across the hall. Though he was only metres away, it might as well have been oceans. Naminé closed her eyes again, this time in dismay.

"What do you want?" To Riku, it seemed like years had been put on her in mere seconds. She sounded so tired...

"I guess, I wanted to say a few goodbyes," he admitted. Naminé nodded, finally understanding.

"Well, you know where to find him," she said, turning for the front door. She placed her hand on the marble handle of the door and stopped, turning back to look at him. He had remained where he was, silently watching her leave. It was, like him to do that.

"Riku?" she called.

"Yeah?"

"Wherever you're going, just, take care, okay? Be careful you don't get hurt."

Riku laughed, despite himself. "I'll do my best, Naminé."

She smiled. Though his voice was different, the inflection was still the same. Ansem could never take Riku away from her.

"Hey," she said softly. "When...when everything is sorted out, and we've had a few months to...adjust, promise me something, okay?"

"What's that?" he asked.

"Ansem or no Ansem, will you take a walk with me?"

Riku's eyes softened, and just for a second, it seemed like he was that insecure, misunderstood, sixteen year old boy again.

"I'd like that," he said.

Naminé nodded in thanks, and opened the door. She slipped through the small gap and was gone into the twilight.

"Goodbye, Naminé," he whispered. With that he made his way up the staircase before disappearing into the lab where Sora awaited.

_I may be a nobody_

_These feelings may not even be real._

_But, you were able to bring some meaning to my faulty, damaged existence._

_That's got to mean something, right?_

_And, even though you hurt me, I can't help it._

_I love you._

_I love you forever._

** Take a Walk with Me, End.  
To be continued in Kingdom Hearts 2.**

**

* * *

****Wow. Two years and eight months later, it's over. That's still a lot to try and get my head around. This fic has been such a constant in my life for as good as three years now, and I have to admit, I'm pretty bummed it's finished. When I first started this fic I thought it was going to end round chapter seven, pretty much straight after the walk to twilight town was done, but it just seemed to really expand from there. I suppose I could have left some things out, but overall, I'm glad it was allowed run wild a bit. I really had fun writing about Riku and Naminé, and it was pure pleasure/fandom to develop a romantic link between them that fit in somewhat with the gap between CoM and KH2. I use somewhat pretty loosely there. While I have done my best to keep things as accurate as possible, I did abuse my privileges with the Naminé back story and Riku's transformation. Hopefully I didn't annoy too many people with those two things. Because of the slight constraint that is was a gap between games, I guess people saw the split between them happening. I didn't want to leave things absolutely rotten to the core between them though, and that was what the epilogue was for.**

**As for the future of my writing about Naminé and Riku, I feel I have a one-shot left in me. I want to write about Riku at the end of KH2 when Naminé returns to Kairi. It might be a while before that gets churned out though, and to be honest, I'm in no hurry to get it done. I might let it stew for a few months before putting pen to paper.**

**To everyone who reviewed, what can I say? Words just simply aren't enough to tell you how much every single review has made my day. From your constructive criticisms, to the squeals of joy, to the pleas for an update, for the compliments, the ego-boosts and the kind words to get me through my tough time between chapters ten and eleven, thank you. I am so, so privileged to be part of a writing community that genuinely cares for the people in it. You guys are my solid rock of support, and I can never explain adequately how much you all truly mean to me. So, can I give a big thank you right now to the following:**

SecretAgent99, SoulEaterDark, LarkaSpirit, glos, Lena, Naminé, Agatsuma Ritsuka, IrisMidnight, TheMagicalTapeworm, Violet Young, nequam-tenshi, Happibuni, Coastie Boi, xXTwilight-KunoichiXx, Mauve Rune, uniFsky, Yami no Kokoro, andpaopucheesecakes, SoraxKairi7, Emerald Moonrose, Amu123, Pan, xMemoirx, Shibara1310, Riku no Kage, Hanakitsunechan7, What Sarah Said, Dragonlover149, I am a ninjaa :], deadly-bliss, Roxas4ever, Foo-Foo, LunaLocket, hyuuga sayumari, hello cake, Selunchen123, Katchi, StrangerInMoscow, LetMeLive, The Hollow Fairy Wolf, xoRaining Diamondsox, and last but not least, blazer227.

**In addition, I'd like to give a special mention to my friend Pan, who somehow became my beta reader along the way. For all the texts/Ims/Conversations that went along the lines of: "do you **_**honestly**_** think s/he'd do/say that?" or "look at your expression here and afterwards get your head examined for missing a mistake like that", I give you my thanks. It wouldn't be half the story it is now without you.**

**Well, that's about all I have to say. To all those that stuck with me chapter by chapter, I really enjoyed walking alongside you on this journey. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for reading. I am eternally grateful.**

**LastCetra.**


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